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SERIES  IN 

Political  Economy  and  Public  Law 


3SrO.    14 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  NEGRO 


A  SOQIAL  STUDY 


BY 

W.  E.  BUI^GHARDT  DU  BOIS,  Ph.  D. 

8«flic  time  ABsittaat  io  Sociology  in  the  Univenity  of  PeaniylvaBia ;    Professor 

of  Bconomice   and  History  in  Atlsnts  University ;   Author  of 

"  The  Suppression  of  the  African  Sieve-Trade.** 

TOGETHER  WITH 

A  SPECIAL  REPORT  ON  DOMESTIC  SERVICE 

BY 
ISABEL    EATON,  A.  M. 

Fellow  of  the  College  Settlements'  Association 


Published  for  the  University 

PHILADELPHIA 

1899 

QiKS  A  Co.,  Selling  Agents,  Tremont  Place,   Boston,  Mam. 


LIBRARY  OF  THE 
LELAtW  STAFFORD  JR.  UNIVERSITY. 

JAN  10  1901 


PREFACE. 


In  November,  1897,  I  submitted  to  the  American  Academy 
of  Political  and  Social  Science  a  plan  for  the  study  of  the 
Negro  problems.'  This  work  is  an  essay  along  the  lines  there 
laid  down,  and  is  thus  part  of  a  larger  design  of  observation 
and  research  into  the  history  and  social  condition  of  the  trans- 
planted Africans. 

The  opportunity  of  making  this  particular  study  was  due 
to  the  initiative  of  Miss  Susan  P.  Wharton,  a  Philadelphia 
woman  active  in  practical  social  reform,  and  to  the  interest 
and  generosity  of  Dr.  Charles  Custis  Harrison,  Provost  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  other  citizens  of  Philadelphia. 

The  Department  of  Finance  and  Economy  (Wharton  School) 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  had  the  general  oversight 
of  the  work,  and  I  am  under  many  obligations  to  the  profes- 
sors in  that  department  for  assistance  and  counsel.  Especially 
am  I  indebted  to  Dr.  Samuel  McCune  Lindsay,  Assistant  Pro- 
fessor of  Sociology,  for  aid,  advice  and  sympathy,  without 
which  the  work  could  hardly  have  been  brought  to  a  success- 
ful close. 

I  must  also  express  the  general  sense  of  obligation  which  I 
feel  toward  the  Negroes  of  Philadelphia,  and  especially  toward 
those  of  the  Seventh  Ward,  for  their  broad-minded  attitude 
toward  an  inquiry  which  was  at  best  a  prying  into  private 
afiairs.  With  no  authority  of  law  behind  me,  the  whole  suc- 
cess of  the  undertaking  depended  on  voluntary  co-operation, 
that  they  cannot  be  explained  away  by  fantastic  theories, 


1  Published  in  the  Annau  of  the  Academy  for  January,  1898. 

(iii) 


iv  Preface. 

I  am  glad  that,  almost  without  exception,  there  was  a  disposi- 
tion to  allow  the  full  truth  to  be  known  for  the  sake  of  science 
and  social  reform. 

Many  persons  have  rendered  me  assistance  in  various  ways 
during  the  investigation.  Among  these  I  must  especially 
mention  the  Rev.  Henry  L.  Phillips,  Rector  of  the  Church  of 
the  Crucifixion;  Mr.  George  W.  Mitchell,  of  the  Philadelphia 
bar;  Mr.  W.  Carl  Bolivar,  Mr.  R.  F.  Adger,  and  Miss  Isabel 
Baton,  Fellow  of  the  College  Settlements  Association.  Mr. 
W.  M.  Dorsey  kindly  placed  his  unique  scrap-books  at  my 
disposal. 

As  large  numbers  of  the  Philadelphia  Negroes  immigrate 
from  Virginia,  I  spent  the  summer  of  1897  ^^  ^^^  State  for  my 
own  enlightenment.  The  results  of  my  observations  were  pub- 
lished in  the  Bulletin  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor ^ 
for  January,  1898,  in  a  contribution  entitled  **  The  Negroes  of 
Parmville:  a  Social  Study.''  This  must  be  regarded  as  a  part 
of  the  present  work. 

It  is  my  earnest  desire  to  pursue  this  particular  form  of  study 
far  enough  to  constitute  a  fair  basis  of  induction  as  to  the 
present  condition  of  the  American  Negro.  If,  for  instance, 
Boston  in  the  East,  Chicago  and  perhaps  Kansas  City  in  the 
West,  and  Atlanta,  New  Orleans  and  Galveston  in  the  Souths 
were  studied  in  a  similar  way,  we  should  have  a  trustworthy 
picture  of  Negro  city  life.  Add  to  this  an  inquiry  into  simi- 
larly selected  country  districts,  and  certainly  our  knowledge  of 
the  Negro  would  be  greatly  increased.  The  department  of 
history  and  economics  of  Atlanta  University,  where  I  am  now 
situated,  is  pursuing  certain  lines  of  inquiry  in  this  general 
direction.  I  hope  that  funds  may  be  put  at  our  disposal  for 
this  larger  and  more  complete  scheme. 

Finally,  let  me  add  that  I  trust  that  this  study  with  all  its 
errors  and  shortcomings  will  at  least  serve  to  emphasize  the 
fact  that  the  Negro  problems  are  problems  of  human  beings; 


Pte/ace.  v 

ungrounded  assumptions  or  metaphysical  subtleties.  They 
present  a  field  which  the  student  must  enter  seriously,  and 
cultivate  carefully  and  honestly.  And  until  he  has  prepared 
the  ground  by  intelligent  and  discriminating  research,  the  labors 
of  philanthropist  and  statesman  must  continue  to  be,  to  a  large 
extent,  barren  and  unfruitful. 

W.   E.   BURGHARDT  Du  BOIS. 
Atlanta  University^ 
June  istf  i8gg. 


INTRODUCTION. 


This  inquiry  into  the  condition  of  the  Negroes  of  Philadel- 
phia was  begun  August  i,  1896,  and,  with  two  months'  inter- 
mission in  the  summer  of  1897,  ^^  pursued  continuously  until 
January  i,  1898.  Dr.  Du  Bois  was  engaged  by  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania  as  assistant  in  sociology  during  this  period  for 
the  special  purposes  of  the  inquiry.  He  devoted  all  of  his 
time  to  systematic  field-work  among  the  Negroes,  especially  in 
the  Seventh  Ward,  attending  their  meetings,  their  churches, 
their  business,  social  and  political  gatherings,  visiting  their 
schools  and  institutions,  and,  most  important  of  all,  conducting 
a  house-to-house  visitation  in  their  families,  through  which  he 
came  in  personal  contact  with  over  ten  thousand  Negro  inhabit- 
ants of  the  city.  He  devoted  his  whole  time  to  this  laborious 
work,  and  the  thanks  of  the  University  are  due  to  him  for  his 
afterward  taking  such  time  as  he  could  spare  from  his  duties  as 
professor  of  history  and  economics  at  Atlanta  University  to 
prepare  the  following  complete  and  accurate  report.  Miss 
Eaton  was  engaged  by  the  Philadelphia  College  Settlement  for 
eight  months  of  the  above  period,  that  is,  from  October  i,  1896, 
to  June  I,  1897,  to  conduct,  under  the  same  general  direction 
and  in  harmony  with  the  methods  of  the  larger  inquiry,  a 
special  investigation  of  the  conditions  of  Negro  domestic  ser- 
vice. She  also  devoted  the  whole  period  of  her  engagement  to 
practical  field-work  and  to  house-to-house  visitation,  and 
kindly  consented  to  prepare  her  report  afterwards.    Thus  the 

inquiry  represents  a  large  amount  of  consecutive  hard  work 

(vii) 


viii  Introduction. 

under  the  most  favorable  conditions  of  practical  personal  study 
of  the  problems  encountered,  while  most  of  the  book-work 
necessary  to  give  the  proper  historical  setting  to  the  reports  of 
these  trained  observers  was  done  subsequently  to  the  inquiry 
itself. 

The  inquiry  owes  its  origin  to  Miss  Susan  P.  Wharton,  at 
the  time  a  member  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Phila- 
delphia College  Settlement.  In  addition  to  her  sympathy  with 
the  unforttmate  and  her  desire  to  help  them  she  realizes  the 
value  of  knowledge  as  a  guide  in  true  philanthropy.  Being 
herself  a  resident  of  the  Seventh  Ward,  where  the  largest 
Negro  settlements  of  the  city  are  located,  and  in  her  work  at 
the  College  Settlement  being  deeply  impressed  with  the  serious 
character  of  some  of  the  Negro  problems,  she  had  already  early 
in  1895  called  together  for  conference  at  her  house  persons 
interested  in  the  welfare  of  this  race.  In  a  letter  addressed  to 
the  Provost  of  the  University,  Dr.  Charles  Custis  Harrison, 
under  date  of  May  30,  1895,  she  asked  for  the  co-operation  of 
the  University,  saying:  **  We  should  like  the  co-operation  of 
the  University  in  a  plan  for  the  better  understanding  of  the 
colored  people,  especially  of  their  position  in  this  city.  Mr. 
Robert  C.  Ogden,  Mr.  Talcott  Williams,  Mrs.  Coppin  and 
myself  are  interested  in  a  plan  to  obtain  a  body  of  reliable 
information  as  to  the  obstacles  to  be  encountered  by  the  colored 
people  in  their  endeavor  to  be  self-supporting,  etc.  Is  the  Uni- 
versity interested  in  sociological  work  of  this  kind  ?  Could  it 
help  to  collect  information  in  any  of  the  ways  mentioned  by 
Mr.  Williams  in  the  enclosed  letter  ?  The  College  Settlement 
wishes  to  co-operate  in  the  movement  and  will  probably  engage 
a  woman  who  can  reside  in  St  Mary  Street.  Dr.  Devine 
thought  there  might  be  some  one  graduating  from  the  Univer- 
sity this  year  who  would  be  interested  in  such  an  investigation. 
Mrs.  Coppin  will  have  a  centre  for  such  information  as  comes 
best  through  the  colored  people  themselves.     ...    If  you 


Introduction.  ix 

see  any  way  in  which  the  University  could  take  part  will  you 
send  me  a  line  by  the  end  of  this  week.  We  hope  to  formulate 
a  plan  in  a  few  days." 

To  no  one  more  S3rmpathetic  could  Miss  Wharton  have  gone 
than  to  the  Provost,  who  has  been  so  long  conspicuously  iden- 
tified with  the  best  philanthropy  in  the  city  and  State.  More- 
over, his  ideal  of  the  place  of  the  University  in  the  modem 
community,  and  of  its  responsibilities  for  public  usefulness, 
caused  him  to  welcome  the  suggestion  that  the  University 
should  have  a  part  in  a  work  with  a  distinctly  ethical  aim  and 
to  be  based  on  accurate  scientific  study  and  investigation.  To 
show  even  more  clearly  the  relation  of  the  University  to  the 
inquiry  we  may  quote  a  few  lines  from  a  letter  which  the  Pro- 
vost sent  out  to  a  few  friends  of  the  University  in  order  to  raise 
the  necessary  funds  for  its  part  in  the  work  : 

In  association  with  the  College  Settlement,  the  University  of  Pennsjl- 
yania  has  been  asked  to  take  part  in  a  social  movement  of  the  following 
character.  It  has  to  do  with  the  condition  of  the  colored  people  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  with  a  quiet,  earnest  effort  to  improve  their  condition. 

It  is  proposed  to  take  a  ward  in  the  citj  and  to  study  the  actual  condi- 
tion of  the  colored  people  in  that  ward.  The  University  will  designate  a 
trained  observer;  the  College  Settlement  will  also  supply  a  similar 
observer.  The  visitation  will  be  from  bouse  to  house.  The  present 
actual  conditions  will  thus  be  ascertained  with  as  close  an  approximation 
to  accuracy  as  possible,  and  the  results,  with  the  statistics,  will  be  pub- 
lished by  the  University.  We  shall  then  have  a  body  of  facts  upon  which 
to  work.  We  shall  know,  inter  alia,  from  what  occupations  colored 
people  are  excluded,  and  we  shall  be  able  to  endeavor  to  open  new 
employments  to  colored  people,  both  men  and  women. 

The  object  in  view  has  met  the  approval  of  thoughtful  people  and  we 
would  like  to  carry  it  out.  .  .  .  My  attention  has  been  called  to  work 
of  a  similar  character  which  has  attracted  the  attention  of  Columbia 
College.  President  Low  made  use  of  the  following  words,  which  I  desire 
to  repeat,  as  applicable  to  our  effort:  "  Science  tells  very  plainly  that  we 
must  not  despise  raw  or  crude  materials.    In  fact,  practical  scientific 


X  httroduction. 

work  of  to-day  is  directed  more  toward  the  utilization  of  waste  materials 
tkan  the  discovery  of  new  things.  Those  who  despise  the  poor  and  the 
outcast,  and  declare  that  nothing  can  be  done  for  their  uplifting,  have 
failed  to  learn  a  great  lesson  that  Christ  would  teach  us.  The  city  prob- 
lems  are  the  problems  of  the  world,  and  always  will  be  until  we  come  to 
the  new  city,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem." 

A  parlor  meeting  was  held  at  Miss  Wharton's  house  in  the 
late  fall  of  1896,  Provost  Harrison  presiding.  The  plan 
referred  to  was  drawn  up  by  the  University  and  presented  with 
explanations  of  the  methods  which  it  was  desired  to  pursue, 
and  with  some  accotmt  of  a  similar  work  on  a  still  larger  scale 
which  had  been  successfully  prosecuted  by  Mr.  Charles  Booth 
in  London  and  the  Hull  House  in  Chicago, — investigations 
leading  in  the  one  case  to  the  publication  of  Mr.  Booth's  monu- 
mental volumes  on  the  **Life  and  Labor  of  the  People  of 
London,"  and  in  the  other  to  the  valuable  volume  of  ''  Hull 
House  Maps  and  Papers."  Addresses  were  made  at  this  gath- 
ering by  such  representative  colored  leaders  as  Mrs.  Coppin  and 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Phillips,  and  by  Miss  Wharton,  Provost  Harri- 
son, Mr.  Isaac  Clothier  and  others.  The  Provost  formally 
announced  that  the  University  was  ready  to  undertake  the 
direction  of  the  investigation,  the  appointment  of  one  special 
observer,  and  the  publication  of  such  results  of  the  entire 
inquiry  as  might  prove  of  permanent  value.  As  a  result  of 
this  meeting  plans  were  soon  completed  and  the  work  of  secur- 
ing the  requisite  funds  and  qualified  investigators  was  begun. 

Dr.  William  £.  Burghardt  Du  Bois,  a  graduate  of  Fisk  and 
Harvard  Universities,  and  also  of  the  Graduate  Department  of 
Harvard,  came  to  us  from  Wilberforce  University,  where,  at 
the  time  of  his  appointment,  he  was  Professor  of  Ancient 
Languages.  His  major  work  at  Harvard,  and  during  a  con- 
siderable period  of  study  in  Germany,  had  been  history  and 
sociology.  His  admirable  volume  on  **The  History  of  the 
African  Slave  Trade,"  published  as  the  first  volume  in  the 


Introduction.  xi 

Harvard  Historical  Studies,  was  at  the  time  in  press.  Both  his 
training  and  personal  qualifications  for  the  projected  work 
proved  to  be  far  greater  than  our  highest  expectations,  and  his 
signal  services  in  the  educational  uplift  of  his  people,  both 
before  and  since  his  term  of  service  at  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, have  won  for  him  a  public  recognition  that  renders 
any  personal  introduction  of  Dr.  Du  Bois  quite  unnecessary. 

The  College  Settlement  was  not  less  fortunate  in  securing  the 
services  of  an  efficient  college  woman  for  its  part  of  the  work. 
Miss  Baton  is  a  graduate  of  Smith  College,  and  has  had  expe- 
rience in  practical  investigation.  While  Fellow  of  the  College 
Settlements  Association,  she  made  and  published  a  careful 
statistical  study  of  the  condition  of  wage-earners  in  the  garment 
trades  in  New  York  and  Chicago.  Her  report  for  the  present 
inquiry  has  already  received  recognition  from  Columbia  Uni- 
versity, where  it  was  accepted  as  partial  fulfillment  of  the  con- 
ditions for  the  Master  of  Arts  degree. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  refer  to  the  original  plan  of  the 
investigation,  because  it  was  adhered  to  in  all  its  salient  fea- 
tures, though  modified  in  minor  details  as  suggested  by  expe- 
rience, and  the  results  and  methods  described  in  the  following 
pages  speak  for  themselves. 

The  purpose  of  the  inquiry  is  to  famish  local  agencies  and 
individuals,  interested  in  improving  the  condition  of  the  Negro 
population  of  Philadelphia,  a  more  comprehensive  knowledge  of 
the  existing  condition  of  Negroes,  so  that  such  work  may  be 
directed  in  the  most  helpful  channels.  It  will  not  be  amiss, 
therefore,  to  call  attention  in  this  place  to  some  of  the  more 
significant  points  brought  out  in  the  report. 

The  Negroes,  as  an  element  in  the  total  population  of  the 
city,  are  growing  in  numbers  more  rapidly  than  the  whites,  the 
rate  of  increase  being  due  rather  to  immigration  than  to  natural 
increase.  In  1890,  however,  the  Negro  constituted  less  than 
four  per  cent  of  the  total  population,  which  was  about  the 


xii  Introduction. 

percentage  for  each  of  the  three  preceding  decades,  and  much 
less  than  that  for  any  decade  in  this  century  prior  to  i860  (49).^ 
Insignificant  as  four  per  cent  may  seem,  it  represents  over 
40,000  souls,  and  was  a  larger  absolute  Negro  population  than 
was  found  in  any  other  city  of  the  country,  excepting  Wash- 
ington, Baltimore  and  New  Orleans  (53).  This  population  is 
placed  in  a  city  which  combines  in  many  curious  ways  the 
characteristics  of  both  North  and  South.  Its  Negro  popula- 
tion is  moreover  peculiar  in  its  excess  of  females  and  of  young 

I 

persons,  men  and  women,  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and 
thirty-five  (55).  More  help  should  be  extended  to  Negro 
working-women,  the  majority  of  whom  are  at  domestic  ser- 
vice. In  general  their  health  is  good,  because  they  are  better 
fed  and  housed  than  persons  in  other  emplo3rments  who  provide 
their  own  meals  and  lodgings  (496).  More  opportunities  are 
needed  for  healthy  amusement  for  domestics  on  their  "  days 
out "  than  are  provided  by  the  Negro  churches  (468);  also  more 
direction  and  legal  protection  concerning  methods  of  saving 
and  mutual  benefit  societies.  The  relation  of  mistress  and  ser- 
vant is  a  problem  in  which  the  Negro  domestic  is  not  peculiar, 
but  is  involved  in  what  is  being  done  for  a  better  adjustment  of 
this  relationship  in  general  (500  ff . ).  Still  the  question  remains : 
Why  the  abnormal  excess  of  females  in  this  city  Negro  popu- 
lation ?  The  limited  occupations  open  to  men  have  much  to  do 
with  it  (55).  Thus  the  women  will  be  helped  by  every  increase 
in  emplo3anents  for  men  which  will  make  the  relative  numbers 
of  the  sexes  more  normal.  The  present  abnormal  sex  distri- 
bution has  caused  considerable  crime  and  moral  degradation. 
This  is  still  farther  accentuated  by  the  fact  that  an  abnormal 
age  structure  explains  if  it  does  not  condone  the  most  preva- 
lent crimes  (259). 

The  chief  problem  of  the  Philadelphia  Negro  is  not  that  of 
**  sheer  ignorance,"  for  the  percentage  of  illiteracy ,  as  illiteracy 

^  Figures  in  parentheses  refer  to  pages  in  the  volume. 


Introduction.  xiii 

is  measured  statistically,  is  low  (92).  Yet  when  one  asks  seri- 
ously: What  kind  of  education  have  these  people  received  ? 
and.  How  is  it  suited  to  their  economic  and  social  status  ?  the 
educational  problA  assumes  large  proportions.  In  the  case  of 
a  race  still  in  its  infancy  in  social  development,  a  race  which 
lacks  most  of  the  safe-guarding  instincts  of  its  stronger  com- 
petitor, the  education  of  each  child  for  direct  economic  inde- 
pendence is  of  vital  import.  More  should  also  be  done  for  adult 
Negro  education.  The  laboring  men  need  training  in  organi- 
zation and  in  esprit  du  corps  (130),  and  must  be  enabled  to 
diversify  their  employments  and  maintain  a  higher  grade  of 
efficiency  in  lines  where  they  are  being  eliminated  in  the  eco- 
nomic struggle  for  survival.  The  male  as  well  as  female  ser- 
vant class — the  class  which  predominates  in  employments — 
needs  training  in  the  laws  of  health  and  hygiene,  as  well  as  in 
the  technical  knowledge  of  cleaning,  cooking  and  household 
etiquette.  The  high  death-rate  of  the  Negro  is  largely  due  to 
the  condition  of  living,  rather  than  to  marked  racial  weak- 
nesses (156),  and  to  the  widespread  ignorance  of  the  laws  of 
health  (160).  The  family  life  needs  strengthening  at  every 
point — a  work  in  which  the  churches  might  do  more  than  at 
present.  The  Negro  church  is  strong  as  a  social  institution, 
but  under  present  conditions  it  absorbs  relatively  too  large  a 
proportion  of  the  family  income,  which  could  be  spent  more 
profitably  on  the  social  activities  of  the  home  (195  flF.). 

The  housing  problem  is  one  of  the  most  serious  among  Phila- 
delphia Negroes.  With  the  present  progress  in  housing  reform 
among  the  poorer  classes  of  whites  and  the  foreign  population 
it  should  be  easy  to  apply  eflFective  remedies.  Negroes  now 
pay  abnormally  high  rents  for  the  poorest  accommodations, 
and  race-prejudice  accentuates  this  difficulty,  out  of  which 
many  evils  grow  (295). 

Many  readers  of  this  report  will  look  most  eagerly  for  what 
is  said  on  the  subject  of  race-prejudice  and  the  so-called  **  color 


xiv  Introduction. 

line."  I  feel  sure  that  no  one  can  read  Chapter  XVI  without 
being  impressed  with  the  impartiality  and  self-control  of  the 
writer.  Dr.  Du  Bois  has  treated  the  facts  b|  obtained  with  the 
delicacy  of  an  artist,  and  I  would  not  wish  to  mar  his  state- 
ment of  the  truth  as  he  sees  it  by  any  attempt  to  re-state  it.  In 
this  connection  another  presentation  of  this  difficult  theme,  by 
the  same  author,  and  published  some  time  ago  in  the  Atlantic 
Monthly ^  will  be  read  with  interest.  The  report  shows  clearly 
that  the  better-educated  classes  among  the  Philadelphia 
Negroes  feel  very  keenly  the  injustice  of  the  class  antagonism 
that  comes  from  the  indiscriminate  classing  of  all  Negroes 
together,  and  the  imputing  to  all  of  the  short-comings  of  the 
ignorant,  vicious  and  criminal.  This  fact,  and  the  proof  that 
such  is  the  habit  among  the  bulk  of  the  white  population, 
comes  out  frequently  in  the  following  pages  (339)  (489).  From 
the  very  nature  of  his  task  Dr.  Du  Bois  has  wisely  refrained 
for  the  most  part  from  drawing  conclusions  or  introducing  any- 
thing that  savors  of  personal  judgment.  It  is  therefore  a  seri- 
ous charge,  and  worthy  of  reflection,  when  he  is  constrained  to 
say  in  one  place  (352):  **  Thus  the  class  of  Negroes  which  the 
prgudices  of  the  dty  have  distinctly  encouraged  is  that  of  the 
criminal,  the  lazy  and  the  shiftless;  for  them  the  city  teems 
with  institutions  and  charities;  for  them  there  is  succor  and 
sympathy;  for  them  Philadelphians  are  thinking  and  planning; 
but  for  the  educated  and  industrious  young  colored  man  who 
wants  work  and  not  [platitudes,  wages  and  not  alms,  just 
rewards  and  not  sermons — for  such  colored  men  Philadelphia 
apparently  has  no  use."  Of  the  truthfulness  or  falsity  of  this 
statement  may  the  careful  perusal  of  this  report  furnish  evi- 
dence that  will  lead  to  honest  convictions  and  corresponding 
action  on  the  part  of  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  for  it  sums 
up  the  pivotal  problem  of  all  the  Negro  problems  of  the  city. 
If  the  Negroes  themselves,  that  is  their  upper  ranks,  cannot 
command  these  privileges  and  secure  them,  or,  if  competent  to 


Introduction.  xv 

possess  them,  they  are  denied  the  possession  by  the  organized 
prejudices  of  the  stronger  race  around  them,  and  these  preju- 
dices cannot  be  broken  down,  then  scientific  philanthropy  is 
helpless  to  point  the  way  to  their  improvement,  and  the  present 
haphazard  efforts  of  unthinking  charity  would  better  cease 
altogether.  In  the  last  analysis  the  rise  of  the  Negro  is  apt  to 
be  in  proportion  to  the  ability  of  the  upper  classes  of  his  race 
to  infuse  the  lower  strata  of  Negro  society  with  the  intellectual 
and  moral  requisites  of  economic  survival  which  they  them- 
selves possess. 

Samuel  McCune  I^indsay. 

University  of  Pennsylvania^ 
June^  iSgg, 


LIBRARY  OF  THE 
LELAt-JD  S'lA^VfORD  JR.  UX'VERSITY. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGB. 

Prbfacb iii-v 

Introduction vii-xv 

THE  PHILADELPHIA  NEGRO. 

Chaptsr       I.  The  Scope  of  This  Study 1-4 

1.  General  aim i 

2.  The  methods  of  inquiry i 

3.  The  credibility  of  the  results 2 

Chaptbr      II.  The  Problem 5-9 

4.  The  Negro  problems  of  Philadelphia  .  5 

5.  The  plan  of  presentment 8 

Chapter    III.  The  Negro  in  Philadelphia,  1638-1820    ....  10-24 

6.  General  surrey 10 

7.  The  transplanting  of  the  Negro,  163S- 

1760 II 

8.  Emancipation,  1760-1780 15 

9.  The  rise  of  the  freedmen,  1 780-1820  .   .  17 

Chapter     IV.  The  Negro  in  Philadelphia,  1820-1896     ....  25-45 

10.  Fugitives  and  foreigners,  1820-1840    .   .  25 

11.  The  guild  of  the  caterers,  1840-1870  .   .  32 

12.  The  influx  of  the  freedmen,  1870-1896  39 

Chapter     V.  The  Size,  Age  and  Sex  of  the  Negro  Popula- 
tion    46-65 

13.  The  city  for  a  century 46 

14.  The  Seventh  Ward,  1896 58 

Chapter       VI.  Conjugal  Condition 66-72 

15.  The  Seventh  Ward 66 

16.  The  city 70 

(xvii) 


xviii  Contents. 

PAGE. 

Chapter      VII.  Sources  of  the  Negro  Population 73-82 

17.  The  Seventh  Ward 73 

18.  The  city 80 

ChapTSR    VIIL  Education  and  Illiteracy 83-96 

19.  The  history  of  Negro  education  ...  83 
2a  The  present  condition 89 

ChaptSR       IX.  The  Occupation  of  Negroes 97-146 

21.  The  question  of  earning  a  living     .  .  97 

22.  Occupations  in  the  Seventh  Ward  •  .  99 

23.  Occupations  in  the  city xix 

24.  History  of  the  occupations  of  Negroes  141 

ChaptSR         X.  The  Health  of  Negroes  . 147-163 

25.  The  interpretation  of  statistics  .   .   .   .  147 

26.  The  statistics  of  the  city 149 

Chaptbr       XI.  The  Negro  Family 164-196 

27.  The  size  of  the  family 164 

28.  Incomes 168 

29.  Property  . 179 

30.  Family  life 192 

Chaptbr     Xn.  The  Organized  Life  of  Negroes 197-334 

31.  History  of  the  Negro  church  in  Phila- 

delphia    197 

32.  The  function  of  the  N^^ro  church  .  .  201 

33.  The  present  condition  of  the  churches  207 

34.  Secret  and  beneficial  societies  and  co- 

operative business     221 

35.  Institutions 230 

36.  The  experiment  of  organization  .  .  •  233 

Chapter    XIII.  The  Negro  Criminal 235-268 

37.  History  of  Negro  crime  in  the  city  .   .  235 

38.  Negro  crime  since  the  war 240 

39.  A  special  study  in  crime 248 

4a  Some  cases  of  crime 259 

Chaptbr     XIV.  Pauperism  and  Alcoholism 269-286 

41.  Pauperism ....       269 

42.  The  drink  habit 277 

43.  The  causes  of  crime  and  poverty    .  .  282 


Contents,  xix 

PAOS. 

Chaptbr       XV.  The  Environment  of  the  Negro 287-321 

44.  Houses  and  rent 287 

45.  Sections  and  wards 299 

46.  Social  classes  and  amusements    .   .   .  309 

Chapter    XVI.  The  Contact  of  the  Races 322-367 

47.  Color  prejudice 322 

48.  Benevolence 355 

49.  The  intermarriage  of  the  races    .   .   .  358 

Chaptbr    XVII.  Negro  Suffrage 368-384 

50.  The  significance  of  the  experiment    .  368 

51.  The  history  of  Negro  suffrage  in  Penn- 

sylvania      368 

52.  City  politics 372 

53.  Some  bad  results  of  Negro  suffrage  '  373 

54.  Spme  good  results  of  Negro  suffrage  .  382 

55.  The  paradox  of  reform 383 

Chaptbr  XVIII.  A  Pinal  Word 385-397 

56.  The  meaning  of  all  this 385 

57.  The  duty  of  the  Negroes 389 

58.  The  duty  of  the  whites 393 

Appbndix  a.  Schedules  used  in  the  house-to-house  inquiry  .   .  400-410 
Appbndix  B.  Legislation,  etc»  of  Pennsylvania  in  regard  to  the 

Negro 411-418 

Appbndec  C.  Bibliography 419-421 


SPECIAL   REPORT   ON    NEGRO    DOMESTIC  SERVICE 

IN  THE  SEVENTH   WARD. 

I.  Introduction 427-429 

II.  Enumeration  of  Negro  domestic  servants 430-434 

Recent  reform  in  domestic  service 430 

Enumeration 431 

III.  Sources  of  the  supply  and  methods  of  hiring 435^443 

Methods  of  hiring 436 

Personnel  of  colored  domestic  service 436 

IV.  Grades  of  service  and  wages 444-455 

Work  required  of  various  sub-occupations 454 


XX  Contents. 

PAOB. 

V.  Savings  and  expenditure 456-463 

Assistance  given  by  domestic  servants 459 

Summary 462 

VI.  Amusements  and  recreations 463-473 

VII.  I/ength  and  quality  of  Negro  domestic  service 474-489 

VIII.  Conjugal  condition,  illiteracy  and  health  of  Negro  do- 
mestics    490-499 

Conjugal  condition 490 

Health  statistics  for  domestic  servants 495 

IX.  Ideals  of  betterment 500-509 

INDBX 511-520 

MAPS. 

I.  Map  of  Seventh  Ward,  showing  streets  and  political  divi- 
sions      •••••  Facing  page  60 

IL  Map  of  Seventh  Ward,  showing  distribution  of  Negro  in- 
habitants^ throughout  the  ward,  and  their  social  condi- 
tion     Facing  page    i 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  NEGRO. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  SCOPE  OF  THIS  STUDY. 

1.  General  Aim. — This  study  seeks  to  present  the  results 
of  an  inquiry  undertaken  by  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
into  the  condition  of  the  forty  thousand  or  more  people  of 
Negro  blood  now  living  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  This 
inquiry  extended  over  a  period  of  fifteen  months  and  sought 
to  ascertain  something  of  the  geographical  distribution  of 
this  race,  their  occupations  and  daily  life,  their  homes,  their 
organizations,  and,  above  all,  their  relation  to  their  million 
white  fellow-citizens.  The  final  design  of  the  work  is  to 
lay  before  the  public  such  a  body  of  information  as  may  be 
a  safe  guide  for  all  efforts  toward  the  solution  of  the  many 
Negro  problems  of  a  great  American  city. 

2.  The  Methods  of  Inquiry. — The  investigation  began 
August  the  first,  1896,  and,  saving  two  months,  continued 
until  December  the  thirty-first,  1897.  'The  work  com- 
menced with  a  house-to-house  canvass  of  the  Seventh 
Ward.  This  long  narrow  ward,  extending  from  South 
Seventh  street  to  the  Schuylkill  River  and  from  Spruce 
street  to  South  street,  is  an  historic  centre  of  Negro  popu- 
lation, and  contains  to-day  a  fifth  of  all  the  Negroes  in 
this  city.^      It  was  therefore   thought   best   to   make   an 


1 1  shall  throughout  this  study  use  the  term  *'  Negro/'  to  designate  all 
persons  of  Negro  descent,  although  the  appellation  is  to  some  extent 
illogical.  I  shall,  moreover,  capitalize  the  word,  because  I  believe  that 
eight  million  Americans  are  entitled  to  a  capital  letter. 

(0 


2  The  Scope  of  This  Study.  [Chap.  L 

intensive  study  of  conditions  in  this  district,  and  afterward 
to  supplement  and  correct  this  information  by  general 
observation  and  inquiry  in  other  parts  of  the  city. 

Six  schedules  were  used  among  the  nine  thousand 
Negroes  of  this  ward ;  a  family  schedule  with  the  usual 
questions  as  to  the  number  of  members,  their  age  and  sex, 
their  conjugal  condition  and  birthplace,  their  ability  to 
read  and  write,  their  occupation  and  earnings,  etc. ;  an 
individual  schedule  with  similar  inquiries ;  a  home 
schedule  with  questions  as  to  the  number  of  rooms,  the 
rent,  the  lodgers,  the  conveniences,  etc. ;  a  street  schedule 
to  collect  data  as  to  the  various  small  streets  and  alleys, 
and  an  institution  schedule  for  organizations  and  institu- 
tions ;  finally  a  slight  variation  of  the  individual  schedule 
was  used  for  house-servants  living  at  their  places  of  employ- 
ment. * 

This  study  of  the  central  district  of  Negro  settlement 
furnished  a  key  to  the  situation  in  the  city ;  in  the  other 
wards  therefore  a  general  survey  was  taken  to  note  any 
striking  diflferences  of  condition,  to  ascertain  the  general 
distribution  of  these  people,  and  to  collect  information  and 
statistics  as  to  organizations,  property,  crime  and  pauperism, 
political  activity,  and  the  like.  This  general  inquiry,  while 
it  lacked  precise  methods  of  measurement  in  most  cases, 
served  nevertheless  to  correct  the  errors  and  illustrate  the 
meaning  of  the  statistical  material  obtained  in  the  house- 
to-house  canvass. 

Throughout  the  study  such  official  statistics  and  histori- 
cal matter  as  seemed  reliable  were  used,  and  experienced 
persons,  both  white  and  colored,  were  freely  consulted. 

3.  The  Credibility  of  the  Results. — The  best  available 
methods  of  sociological  research  are  at  present  so  liable  to 
inaccuracies  that  the  careful  student  discloses  the  results 
of  individual  research  with  diffidence  ;  he  knows  that  they 
are  liable  to  error  from  the  seemingly  ineradicable  faults  of 

*  See  Appendix  A  for  fonn  of  schedules  used. 


Sect.  3.]  The  Credibiliiy  of  the  Results.  3 

the  statistical  method,  to  even  greater  error  from  the 
methods  of  general  observation,  and,  above  all,  he  must 
ever  tremble  lest  some  personal  bias,  some  moral  conviction 
or  some  unconscious  trend  of  thought  due  to  previous 
training,  has  to  a  degree  distorted  the  picture  in  his  view. 
Convictions  on  all  great  matters  of  human  interest  one 
must  have  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  and  they  will  enter 
to  some  extent  into  the  most  cold-blooded  scientific  research 
as  a  disturbing  factor. 

Nevertheless  here  are  social  problems  before  us  demand- 
ing careful  study,  questions  awaiting  satisfactory  answers. 
We  must  study,  we  must  investigate,  we  must  attempt  to 
solve  ;  and  the  utmost  that  the  world  can  demand  is,  not 
lack  of  human  interest  and  moral  conviction,  but  rather 
the  heart-quality  of  fairness,  and  an  earnest  desire  for  the 
truth  despite  its  possible  unpleasantness. 

In  a  house-to-house  investigation  there  are,  outside  the 
attitude  of  the  investigator,  many  sources  of  error :  mis- 
apprehension, vagueness  and  forgetfulness,  and  deliberate 
deception  on  the  part  of  the  persons  questioned,  greatly 
vitiate  the  value  of  the  answers ;  on  the  other  hand,  con- 
clusions formed  by  the  best  trained  and  most  conscientious 
students  on  the  basis  of  general  observation  and  inquiry 
are  really  inductions  from  but  a  few  of  the  multitudinous 
facts  of  social  life,  and  these  may  easily  fall  far  short  of 
being  essential  or  typical. 

The  use  of  both  of  these  methods  which  has  been 
attempted  in  this  study  may  perhaps  have  corrected  to 
some  extent  the  errors  of  each.  Again,  whatever  personal 
equation  is  to  be  allowed  for  in  the  whole  study  is  one 
unvarying  quantity,  since  the  work  was  done  by  one  inves- 
tigator, and  the  varying  judgments  of  a  score  of  census- 
takers  was  thus  avoided.* 


*The  appended  study  of  domestic  service  was  done  by  Miss  Isabel 
Baton,  FeUow  of  the  CoUege  SettlemeiAa  Association.  Outside  of  this 
the  work  was  done  by  the  one  investigator. 


4  The  Scope  of  This  Study.  [Chap.  I. 

Despite  all  drawbacks  and  diflSculties,  however,  the 
main  results  of  the  inquiry  seem  credible.  They  agree,  to 
a  large  extent,  with  general  public  opinion,  and  in  other 
respects  they  seem  either  logically  explicable  or  in  accord 
with  historical  precedents.  They  are  therefore  presented 
to  the  public,  not  as  complete  and  without  error,  but  as 
possessing  on  the  whole  enough  reliable  matter  to  serve  as 
the  scientific  basis  of  further  study,  and  of  practical  reform. 


CHAPTER  11. 

THE  PROBLEM. 

4.  The  Negro  Problems  of  Philadelphia. — In  Phila- 
delphia, as  elsewhere  in  the  United  States,  the  existence  of 
certain  peculiar  social  problems  aflfecting  the  Negro  people 
are  plainly  manifest.  Here  is  a  large  group  of  people — 
perhaps  forty-five  thousand,  a  city  within  a  city — who  do 
not  form  an  integral  part  of  the  larger  social  group.  This 
in  itself  is  not  altogether  unusual ;  there  are  other  unassim- 
ilated  groups :  Jews,  Italians,  even  Americans ;  and  yet 
in  the  case  of  the  Negroes  the  segregation  is  more  con- 
spicuous, more  patent  to  the  eye,  and  so  intertwined  with 
a  long  historic  evolution,  with  peculiarly  pressing  social 
problems  of  poverty,  ignorance,  crime  and  labor,  that  the 
Negro  problem  far  surpasses  in  scientific  interest  and  social 
gravity,  most  of  the  other  race  or  class  questions. 

The  student  of  these  questions  must  first  ask.  What  is 
the  real  condition  of  this  group  of  human  beings?  of 
whom  is  it  composed,  what  sub-groups  and  classes  exist, 
what  sort  of  individuals  are  being  considered  ?  further,  the 
student  must  clearly  recognize  that  a  complete  study  must 
not  confine  itself  to  the  group,  but  must  specially  notice 
the  environment ;  the  physical  environment  of  city,  sec- 
tions and  houses,  the  far  mightier  social  environment — the 
surrounding  world  of  custom,  wish,  whim,  and  thought 
which  envelops  this  group  and  powerfully  influences  its 
social  development. 

Nor  does  the  clear  recognition  of  the  field  of  investiga- 
tion simplify  the  work  of  actual  study  ;  it  rather  increases 
it,  by  revealing  lines  of  inquiry  far  broader  in  scope  than 
first  thought  suggests.     To  the  average  Philadelphian  the 

(5) 


r 


6  The  Problem.  [Chap.  II. 

whole  Negro  question  reduces  itself  to  a  study  of  certaid 
slum  districts.  His  mind  reverts  to  Seventh  and  Lombard 
streets  aud  to  Twelfth  and  Kater  streets  of  to-day,  or  to 
St  Mary's  in  the  past.  Continued  and  widely  known 
charitable  work  in  these  sections  make  the  problem  of 
poverty  familiar  to  him  ;  bold  and  daring  crime  too  often 
traftd  to  these  centres  has  called  his  attention  to  a  prob- 
lem of  crime,  while  the  scores  of  loafers,  idlers  and  pros- 
titutes who  crowd  the  sidewalks  here  night  and  day 
remind  him  of  a  problem  of  work. 

All  this  is  true — all  these  problems  are  there  and  of 
threatening  intricacy  ;  unfortunately,  however,  the  interest 
of  the  ordinary  man  of  affairs  is  apt  to  stop  here.  Crime, 
poverty  and  idleness  affect  his  interests  unfavorably  and 
he  would  have  them  stopped  ;  he  looks  upon  these  slums 
and  slum  characters  as  unpleasant  things  which  should  in 
some  way  be  removed  for  the  best  interests  of  all.  The 
social  student  agrees  with  him  so  far,  but  must  point  out 
that  the  removal  of  unpleasant  features  from  our  compli- 
cated modern  life  is  a  delicate  operation  requiring  know- 
ledge and  skill;  that  a  shim  is  not  a  simple  fact,  it  is  a 
symptom,  and  that  to  know  the  removable  causes  of  the 
Negro  slums  of  Philadelphia  requires  a  study  that  takes 
one  far  beyond  the  slum  districts.  For  few  Phiiadelphians 
realize  how  the  Negro  population  has  grown  aud  spread. 
There  was  a  time  in  the  memory  of  living  men  when  a 
small  district  near  Sixth  and  Lombard  streets  compre- 
hended the  great  mass  of  the  Negro  population  of  the 
city.  This  is  no  longer  so.  Very  early  the  stream  of  the 
black  population  started  northward,  but  the  increased 
foreign  immigration  of  1830  and  later,  turned  it  back. 
It  started  south  also  but  was  checked  by  poor  houses  and 
worse  police  protection.  Finally  with  gathered  momen- 
tum the  emigration  from  the  slums  started  west,  rolling  on 
slowly  aud  surely  taking  Lombard  street  as  its  main 
thoroughfare,  gaining  early  foothold  in  West  Philadelphia, 


Sect.  4.]      The  Negro  Problevis  of  Philadelphia.  7 

and  turning  at  the  Schuylkill  River  north  and  south  to 
the  newer  portions  of  the  city. 

Thus  to-day  the  Negroes  are  scattered  in  every  ward  of 
the  city,  and  the  great  mass  of  them  live  far  from  the  whilom 
centre  of  colored  settlement.  What,  then,  of  this  great 
mass  of  the  population?  Manifestly  they  form  a  class 
with  social  problems  of  their  own — the  problems  of  the 
Thirtieth  Ward  diflFer  from  the  problems  of  the  Fifth,  as 
the  black  inhabitants  diflfer.  In  the  former  ward  we  have 
represented  the  rank  and  file  of  Negro  working-people ; 
laborers  and  servants,  porters  and  waiters.  This  is  at  pres- 
ent the  great  middle  class  of  Negroes  feeding  the  slums 
on  the  one  hand  and  the  upper  class  on  the  other.  Here 
are  social  questions  and  conditions  which  must  receive  the 
most  careful  attention  and  patient  interpretation. 

Not  even  here,  however,  can  the  social  investigator  stop. 
He  knows  that  every  group  has  its  upper  class  ;  it  may  be 
numerically  small  and  socially  of  little  weight,  and  yet  its 
study  is  necessary  to  the  comprehension  of  the  whole — it 
forms  the  realized  ideal  of  the  group,  and  as  it  is  true  that 
a  nation  must  to  some  extent  be  measured  by  its  slums,  it 
is  also  true  that  it  can  only  be  understood  and  finally  judged 
by  its  upper  class. 

The  best  class  of  Philadelphia  Negroes,  though  some- 
times forgotten  or  ignored  in  discussing  the  Negro  prob- 
lems, is  nevertheless  known  to  many  Philadelphians. 
Scattered  throughout  the  better  parts  of  the  Seventh 
Ward,  and  on  Twelfth,  lower  Seventeenth  and  Nineteenth 
streets,  and  here  and  there  in  the  residence  wards  of  the 
northern,  southern,  and  western  sections  of  the  city  is  a  class 
of  caterers,  clerks,  teachers,  professional  men,  small  mer- 
chants, etc.,  who  constitjtite  the  aristocracy  of  tlye  Negroes. 
Many  are  well-to-do,  some  are  wealthy,  all  are  fairly  edu- 
cated, and  some  liberally  trained.  Here  too  are  social 
problems — differing  from  those  of  the  other  classes,  and 
differing  too  from  those  of  the  whites  of  a  corresponding 


The  Problem.  [Chap. 


'^ 


grade,  because  of  the  peculiar  social  euvironmeat  in  which 
the  whole  race  finds  itself,  which  the  whole  race  feels,  but 
which  touches  this  highest  class  at  most  points  and  tells 
upon  them  most  decisively. 

Many  are  the  misapprehensions  and  misstatements  as  to 
the  social  environment  of  Negroes  in  a  great  Northern  city. 
Sometimes  it  is  said,  here  they  are  free ;  they  have  the 
same  chance  as  the  Irishman,  the  Italian,  or  the  Swede ;  at 
other  times  it  is  said,  the  environment  is  such  that  it  is 
really  more  oppressive  than  the  situation  in  Sonthern  cities. 
The  student  must  ignore  both  of  these  extreme  statements 
and  seek  to  extract  from  a  complicated  mass  of  facts  the 
tangible  evidence  of  a  social  atmosphere  surrounding 
Negroes,  which  differs  from  that  surrounding  most  whites  ; 
of  a  different  mental  attitude,  moral  standard,  and  economic 
judgment  shown  toward  Negroes  than  toward  most  other 
folk.  That  such  a  difference  exists  and  can  now  and  then 
plainly  be  seen,  few  deny  ;  but  just  how  far  it  goes  and 
how  large  a  factor  it  is  in  the  Negro  problems,  nothing  but 
careful  study  and  measurement  can  reveal. 

Such  then  are  the  phenomena  of  social  condition  and 
environment  which  this  study  proposes  to  describe,  analyze, 
and,  so  far  as  possible,  interpret. 

5.  Plan  of  Presentment, — The  study  as  taken  up  here 
divides  itself  roughly  into  four  parts  :  the  history  of  the 
Negro  people  in  the  city,  their  present  condition  considered 
as  individuals,  their  condition  as  an  organized  social  group, 
and  their  physical  and  social  environment  To  the  history 
of  the  Negro  but  two  chapters  are  devoted — a  brief  sketch 
— although  the  subject  is  worthy  of  more  extended  study 
than  the  character  of  this  essay  permitted. 

Six  chapters  consider  the  general  condition  of  the 
Negroes:  their  number,  age,  and  sex,  conjugal  condition, 
and  birthplace ;  what  degree  of  education  they  have 
obtained,  and  how  they  earn  a  living.  All  these  subjects 
are   treated    usually   for    the    Seventh   Ward    somewhat 


Sect.  5.]  Plan  of  Presentment.  9 

minutely,  then  more  generally  for  the  city,  and  finally  such 
historical  material  is  adduced  as  is  available  for  com- 
parison. 

Three  chapters  are  devoted  to  the  group  life  of  the 
Negro ;  this  includes  a  study  of  the  family,  of  property,  and 
of  organizations  of  all  sorts.  It  also  takes  up  such  phe- 
nomena, of  social  maladjustment  and  individual  depravity 
as  crime,  pauperism  and  alcoholism. 

One  chapter  is  devoted  to  the  diflScult  question  of  en- 
vironment, both  physical  and  social,  one  to  certain  results 
of  the  contact  of  the  white  and  black  races,  one  to  Negro 
suffrage,  and  a  word  of  general  advice  in  the  line  of  social 
reform  is  added. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  NEGRO   IN   PHILADELPHIA,    1638-182O. 

6.  General  Survey. — Few  States  present  better  oppor- 
tunities for  the  continuous  study  of  a  group  of  Negroes 
than  Pennsylvania.  The  Negroes  were  brought  here  early, 
were  held  as  slaves  along  with  many  white  serfs.  They 
became  the  subjects  of  a  protracted  abolition  controversy, 
and  were  finally  emancipated  by  gradual  process.  Although^ 
for  the  most  part,  in  a  low  and  degraded  condition,  and 
thrown  upon  their  own  resources  in  competition  with  white 
labor,  they  were  nevertheless  so  inspired  by  their  new  free- 
dom and  so  guided  by  able  leaders  that  for  something  like 
forty  years  they  made  commendable  progress.  Meantime, 
however,  the  immigration  of  foreign  laborers  began,  the 
new  economic  era  of  manufacturing  was  manifest  in  the 
land,  and  a  national  movement  for  the  abolition  of  slavery 
had  its  inception.  The  lack  of  skilled  Negro  laborers  for 
the  factories,  the  continual  stream  of  Southern  fugitives 
and  rural  freedmen  into  the  city,  the  intense  race  antipathy 
of  the  Irish  and  others,  together  with  intensified  prejudice 
of  whites  who  did  not  approve  of  agitation  against  slavery 
— all  this  served  to  check  the  development  of  the  Negro, 
to  increase  crime  and  pauperism,  and  at  one  period  resulted 
in  riot,  violence,  and  bloodshed,  which  drove  many  Negroes 
from  the  city. 

Economic  adjustment  and  the  enforcement  of  law  finally 
allayed  this  excitement,  and  another  period  of  material 
prosperity  and  advance  among  the  Negroes  followed.  Then 
came  the  inpouring  of  the  newly  emancipated  blacks  from 
the  South  and  the  economic  struggle  of  the  artisans  to  main- 
tain'wages,  which  brought  on  a  crisis  in  the  city,  manifested 
again  by  idleness,  crime  and  pauperism. 

(10) 


Sect  7.]       Transplanting  of  the  Negro  ^  16J8-1760,         11 

Thus  we  see  that  twice  the  Philadelphia  Negro  has,  with 
a  fair  measure  of  success,  begun  an  interesting  social  devel- 
opment, and  twice  through  the  migration  of  barbarians  a 
dark  age  has  settled  on  his  age  of  revival.  These  same 
phenomena  would  have  marked  the  advance  of  many  other 
elements  of  our  population  if  they  had  been  as  definitely 
isolated  into  one  indivisible  group.  No  diflFerences  of  social 
condition  allowed  any  Negro  to  escape  from  the  group, 
although  such  escape  was  continually  the  rule  among  Irish, 
Germans  and  other  whites. 

7.  The  Transplanting  of  the  Negro,  1638-1760. — The 
Dutch,  and  possibly  the  Swedes,  had  already  planted 
slavery  on  the  Delaware  when  Penn  and  the  Quakers 
arrived  in  1682.^  One  of  Penn's  first  acts  was  tacitly  to 
recognize  the  serfdom  of  Negroes  by  a  provision  of  the 
Free  Society  of  Traders  that  they  should  serve  fourteen 
years  and  then  become  serfs — a  provision  which  he  himself 
and  all  the  others  soon  violated.* 

Certain  German  settlers  who  came  soon  after  Penn,  and 
who  may  or  may  not  have  been  active  members  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  protested  sturdily  against  slavery  in 
1688,  but  the  Quakers  found  the  matter  too  "weighty."* 
Five  years  later  the  radical  seceders  under  Kieth  make  the 
existence  of  slavery  a  part  of  their  attack  on  the  society. 
Nevertheless  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  colony  con- 
tinued to  grow,  and  the  number  of  blacks  in  Philadelphia 
so  increased  that  as  early  as  1693  we  find  an  order  of  the 


» Cf.  Scharf-Westcott's  **  History  of  Philadelphia,"  I,  65,  76.  DuBois' 
"  Slave  Trade,"  p.  24. 

'Hazard's  "Annals,**  553.  Thomas*  "Attitude  of  Friends  Toward 
Slavery,*'  266. 

'  There  is  some  controversy  as  to  whether  these  Germans  were  actually 
Friends  or  not;  the  weight  of  testimony  seems  to  be  that  they  were. 
See,  however,  Thomas  as  above,  p.  267,  and  Appendix.  "  Pennsylvania 
Magazine,'*  IV,  28-31;  The  Critic,  August  27,  1897.  DuBois*  "Slave 
Trade,"  p.  20,  203.  For  copy  of  protest,  see  published  fac-simile  and 
Appendix  of  Thomas.  For  further  proceedings  of  Quakers,  see  Thomas 
and  DuBois,  passim. 


F 


Negro  in  Philadelphia,  t6jS-i830.    [Chap.  Ill, 


Council  against  the  "  tumultuous  gatherings  of  the  negroes 
of  the  towne  of  Philadelphia,  on  the  first  dayes  of  the 
weeke." ' 

In  1696  the  Friends  began  a  cautious  dealing  with  the 
subject,  which  in  the  course  of  a  century  led  to  the  abolition 
of  slavery.  This  growth  of  moral  sentiment  was  slow  but 
unwaveringly  progressive,  and  far  in  advance  of  contem- 
porary thought  in  civilized  lauds.  At  first  the  Friends 
sought  merely  to  regulate  slavery  in  a  general  way  and 
prevent  its  undue  growth.  They  therefore  suggested  in 
the  Yearly  Meeting  of  1696,  and  for  some  time  thereafter, 
that  since  traders  "  have  flocked  in  among;st  us  and  .... 
increased  and  multiplied  negroes  amongst  us,"  members 
ought  not  to  encourage  the  further  importation  of  slaves, 
as  there  were  enough  for  all  purposes.  In  1711  a  more 
active  discouragement  of  the  slave  trade  was  suggested, 
and  in  1716  the  Yearly  Meeting  intimated  that  even  the 
buying  of  imported  slaves  might  not  be  the  best  policy, 
although  the  meeting  hastened  to  call  this  "  caution,  not 
censure." 

By  1719  the  Meeting  was  certain  that  their  members 
ought  not  to  engage  in  the  slave  trade,  and  in  1730  they 
declared  the  buying  of  slaves  imported  by  others  to  be 
"  disagreeable."  At  this  milestone  they  lingered  thirty 
years  for  breath  and  courage,  for  the  Meeting  had  evidently 
distanced  many  of  its  more  conservative  members.  In 
-1743  the  question  of  importing  slaves,  or  buying  imported 
slaves,  was  made  a  disciplinary  query,  and  in  1754, 
spurred  by  the  crusade  of  Say,  Woolman  and  Benezet, 
offending  members  were  disciplined.  In  the  important 
gathering  of  1758  the  same  golden  rule  was  laid  down  as 
that  with  which  the  Germans,  seventy  j'ears  previous,  had 
taunted  them,  and  the  institution  of  slavery  was  categor- 
ically condemned.'     Here  they  rested  until   1775,  when, 

•"Colonial  Records,"  I,  380-81. 

•Thomas,  ^76;  Whittier  Intro,  to  Woolman,  16. 


Sect  7.]      Transplanting  of  the  Negro^  i6j8-iy6o.  13 

after  a  struggle  of  eighty-seven  years,  they  decreed  the 
exclusion  of  slaveholders  from  fellowship  in  the  Society. 

While  in  the  councils  of  the  State  Church  the  freedom 
of  Negroes  was  thus  evolving,  the  legal  status  of  Negroes 
of  Pennsylvania  was  being  laid.  Four  bills  were  intro- 
duced in  1700 :  one  regulating  slave  marriages  was  lost ; 
the  other  three  were  passed,  but  the  Act  for  the  Trial  of 
Negroes — a  harsh  measure  providing  death,  castration  and 
whipping  for  punishments,  and  forbidding  the  meeting 
together  of  more  than  four  Negroes — was  afterward  disal- 
lowed by  the  Queen  in  Council.  The  remaining  acts 
became  laws,  and  provided  for  a  small  duty  on  imported 
slaves  and  the  regulation  of  trade  with  slaves  and  ser- 
vants.* 

In  1706  another  act  for  the  trial  of  Negroes  was  passed 
and  allowed.  It  diflFered  but  slightly  from  the  Act  of  1700  ; 
it  provided  that  Negroes  should  be  tried  for  crimes  by  two 
justices  of  the  peace  and  a  jury  of  six  freeholders  ;  rob- 
bery and  rape  were  punished  by  branding  and  exportation, 
homicide  by  death,  and  stealing  by  whipping  ;^  the  meeting 
of  Negroes  without  pennission  was  prohibited.  Between 
this  time  and  1760  statutes  were  passed  regulating  the  sale 
of  liquor  to  slaves  and  the  use  of  firearms  by  them  ;  and 
also  the  general  regulative  Act  of  1726,  "for  the  Better 
Regulation  of  Negroes  in  this  Province."  This  act  was 
especially  for  the  punishment  of  crime,  the  suppression  of 
pauperism,  the  prevention  of  intermarriage,  and  the  like — 
that  is,  for  regulating  the  social  and  economic  status  of 
Negroes,  free  and  enslaved.^ 

Meantime  the  number  of  Negroes  in  the  colony  con- 
tinued to  increase;  by  1720  there  were  between  2500  and 
5000  Negroes  in  Pennsylvania ;  they  rapidly  increased 
until  there  were  a  large  number  by  1750 — ^some  say  11,000 


•  See  Appendix  B. 

^**Statutes-at-Large,**  Ch.  141,  881.    See  Appendix  B. 

>•*  Statntes-at-Large,"  III,  pp.  250,  254;  IV,  59  flf.    See  Appendix  B. 


14  Negro  in  Philadelphia,  163S-1S20.    [Chap.  III. 

or  more — when  they  decreased  by  war  and  sale,  so  that  the 
census  of  1790  found  10,274  '"  l''^  State.' 

The  slave  duties  form  a  pretty  good  indication  of  the 
increase  of  Negro  population,'"  The  duty  in  1700  was 
from  6j.  to  zqs.  This  was  increased,  and  in  1712,  owing 
to  the  large  importations  and  the  turbulent  actions  of 
Negroes  in  neighboring  States,  a  prohibitive  duty  of  £zo 
was  laid."  England,  however,  who  was  on  the  eve  of 
signing  the  Assiento  with  Spain,  soon  disallowed  this  act 
and  the  duty  was  reduced  to  _^5.  The  influx  of  Negroes 
after  the  English  had  signed  the  huge  slave  contract 
with  Spain  was  so  large  that  the  Act  of  1726  laid  a  restrict- 
ive duty  of  ^10.  For  reasons  not  apparent,  but  possibly 
connected  with  fluctuations  in  the  value  of  the  currency, 
this  duty  was  reduced  to  £2  in  1729,  and  seems  to  have 
remained  at  that  figure  until  1761. 

The  _^io  duty  was  restored  in  1761,  and  probably  helped 
much  to  prevent  importation,  especially  when  we  remem- 
ber the  work  of  the  Quakers  at  this  period.  In  1773  a 
prohibitive  duty  of  ;^20  was  laid,  aud  the  Act  of  1780 
finally  prohibited  importation.  After  1760  it  is  probable 
that  the  efforts  of  the  Quakers  to  get  rid  of  their  slaves 
made  the  export  slave  trade  much  larger  than  the 
importation. 

Very  early  in  the  history  of  the  colony  the  presence  of 
unpaid  slaves  for  life  greatly  disturbed  the  economic  con- 
dition of  free  laborers.  While  most  of  the  white  laborers 
were  indentured  servants  the  competition  was  not  so  much 
felt ;  whea  they  became  free  laborers,  however,  and  were 
joined  by  other  laborers,  the  cry  against  slave  competition 
was  soon  raised.  The  particular  grievance  was  the  hiring 
out  of  slave  mechanics  by  masters;  in  1708  the  free 
white  mechanics  protested  to  the  l,egislature  against  this 

■DaBois'  "Slave  Trade,"  p.  23,  note.    U.  S.  Census. 
'"See  Appendix  B.     Cf.  DiiBois'  "  Slave  Trade,"  passim. 
"  DuBois'  *■  Slave  Trade,"  p.  306. 


'^ 


Sect.  8.]  Emancipation^  1 760-1 780.  15 

custom,"  and  this  was  one  of  the  causes  of  the  Act  of  1712 
in  all  probability.  When  by  1722  the  number  of  slaves  had 
further  increased,  the  whites  again  protested  against  the 
"  employment  of  blacks,"  apparently  including  both  free 
and  slave.  The  Legislature  endorsed  this  protest  and 
declared  that  the  custom  of  employing  black  laborers  and 
mechanics  was  "dangerous  and  injurious  to  the  repub- 
lic."^ Consequently  the  Act  of  1726  declared  the  hiring 
of  their  time  by  Negro  slaves  to  be  illegal,  and  sought  to 
restrict  emancipation  on  the  ground  that  "  free  negroes 
are  an  idle  and  slothful  people,"  and  easily  become  public 
burdens." 

As  to  the  condition  of  the  Negroes  themselves  we  catch 
only  glimpses  here  and  there.  Considering  the  times,  the 
system  of  slavery  was  not  harsh  and  the  slaves  received 
fair  attention.  There  appears,  however,  to  have  been 
much  trouble  with  them  on  account  of  stealing,  some 
drunkenness  and  general  disorder.  The  preamble  of  the 
Act  of  1726  declares  that  "it  too  often  happens  that 
Negroes  commit  felonies  and  other  heinous  crimes,"  and 
that  much  pauperism  arises  from  emancipation.  This  act 
facilitated  punishment  of  such  crimes  by  providing  indem- 
nification for  a  master  if  his  slave  suflFered  capital  punish- 
ment They  were  declared  to  be  often  "  tumultuous  "  in 
1693,  to  be  found  "  cursing,  gaming,  swearing,  and  com- 
mitting many  other  disorders"  in  1732  ;  in  1738  and  1741 
they  were  also  called  "  disorderly  "  in  city  ordinances.^* 

In  general,  we  see  among  the  slaves  at  this  time  the  low 
condition  of  morals  which  we  should  expect  in  a  barbar- 
ous people  forced  to  labor  in  a  strange  land. 

8.  Emancipation,  1760-1780. — The  years  1750-1760 
mark  the  culmination  of  the  slave  system  in  Pennsylvania 


»Scharf-Wc8tcotf8  •'History  of  Philadelphia,"  I.  20a 
'•Watson's  *'Annals,'»  (Ed.  1850)  I,  98. 
'*  See  Appendix  B. 
»  Cf.  Chapter  XIII. 


Negro  in  Philadelphia^  i6j8-i820.    [Chap.  III. 


and  the  beginning  of  its  decline.  By  that  time  most 
shrewd  observers  saw  that  the  institution  was  an  economic 
failure,  and  were  consequently  more  disposed  than  formerly 
to  listen  to  the  earnest  representations  of  the  great  anti- 
slavery  agitators  of  that  period.  There  were,  to  be  sure, 
strong  vested  interests  still  to  be  fought.  When  the  ;^io 
duty  act  of  1761  was  pending,  the  slave  merchants  of  the 
city,  including  many  respectable  names,  vigorously  pro- 
tested ;  "  ever  desirous  to  extend  the  Trade  of  this  Prov- 
ince," they  declared  that  they  had  "  seen  for  some  time 
past  the  many  inconveniencys  the  Inhabitants  have  suflfered 
for  want  of  labourers  and  Artificers,"  and  had  conse- 
quently "for  some  time  encouraged  the  importation  of 
Negroes."  They  prayed  at  the  verj'  least  for  delay  in 
passing  this  restrictive  measure.  After  debate  and  alterca- 
tion with  the  governor  the  measure  finally  passed,  indi- 
catinfj  renewed  strength  and  determination  on  the  part  of 
the  abolition  party." 

Meantime  voluntary  emancipation  increased.  Sandiford 
emancipated  his  slaves  in  1733,  and  there  were  by  1790  in 
Philadelphia  aboutone  thousand  black  freedmen.  A  school 
for  these  and  others  was  started  in  1770  at  the  instance  of 
Kenezet,  and  had  at  first  twenty-two  children  in  attend- 
ance." The  war  brought  a  broader  and  kindlier  feeling 
toward  the  Negroes ;  before  its  end  the  Quakers  had 
ordered  maunniission,"  and  several  attempts  were  made  to 
prohibit  slaver>'  by  statute.  Finally,  in  1780,  the  Act  for 
the  Gradual  Abolition  of  Slavery  was  passed.'*  This  act, 
beginning  with  a  strong  coudemnation  of  slavery,  pro- 
vided that  no  child  thereafter  born  in  Pennsylvania  should 
be  a  slave.  The  children  of  slaves  born  after  17S0  were  to 
be  bond-scn'ants  until  twenty-eight  years  of  age — that  is, 

""Colonial  Records,"  VIII,  576;  DuBois'  "Slave  Trade."  p.  23. 
"Cf.  Pamphlet:  "Sketch  of  the  Sclioola  for  Blacka,"  also  Chapter  VIII. 
"Cf.  Thomas'  "Atlitucie  of  Friends,"  etc.,  p.  273. 
I' Dallas'  •■Laws,"  I,  838,  Ch.  881;  Dullois'  "Slave  Trade,"  p.  335. 


Sect  9.]    The  Rise  of  the  Freedman^  1780-1820.  17 

beginning  with  the  year  1808  there  was  to  be  a  series  of 
emancipations.  Side  by  side  with  this  growth  of  emanci- 
pation sentiment  went  an  increase  in  the  custom  of  hiring 
out  Negro  slaves  and  servants,  which  increased  the  old 
competition  with  the  whites.  The  slaves  were  owned  in 
small  lots,  especially  in  Philadelphia,  one  or  two  to  a 
family,  and  were  used  either  as  house  servants  or  artisans. 
As  a  result  they  were  encouraged  to  learn  trades  and  seem 
to  have  had  the  larger  share  of  the  ordinary  trades  of  the 
city  in  their  hands.  Many  of  the  slaves  in  the  better 
families  became  well-known  characters — as  Alice,  who  for 
forty  years  took  the  tolls  at  Dunk's  Ferry  ;  Virgil  Warder, 
who  once  belonged  to  Thomas  Penn,  and  Robert  Venable, 
a  man  of  some  intelligence."* 

9.  The  Rise  of  the  Freedman,  1780-1820. — A  careful 
study  of  the  process  and  eflFect  of  emancipation  in  the 
diflFerent  States  of  the  Union  would  throw  much  light  on 
our  national  experiment  and  its  ensuing  problems.  Espe- 
cially is  this  true  of  the  experiment  in  Pennsylvania  ;  to 
be  sure,  emancipation  here  was  gradual  and  the  number 
emancipated  small  in  comparison  with  the  population,  and 
yet  the  main  facts  are  similar:  the  freeing  of  ignorant 
slaves  and  giving  them  a  chance,  almost  unaided  from 
without,  to  make  a  way  in  the  world.  The  first  result  was 
widespread  poverty  and  idleness.  This  was  followed,  as 
the  number  of  freedmen  increased,  by  a  rush  to  the  city. 
Between  1790  and  1800  the  Negro  population  of  Philadel- 
phia County  increased  from  2489  to  6880,  or  176  per  cent, 
against  an  increase  of  43  per  cent  among  the  whites.  The 
first  result  of  this  contact  with  city  life  was  to  stimulate 
the  talented  and  aspiring  freedmen ;  and  this  was  the 
easier  because  the  freedman  had  in  Philadelphia  at  that 
time  a  secure  economic  foothold  ;  he  performed  all  kinds 
of  domestic  service,  all  common  labor  and  much  of  the 
skilled  labor.     The  group  being  thus  secure  in  its  daily 

*Cf.  Watson's  "Annals"  (Ed.  1850),  I,  pp.  557,  101-103,  601,  602,  515. 

a 


Negro  in  Philadelphia,  i6j8-i820.  [Chap.  III. 


bread  needed  only  leadership  to  make  some  advance  in 
general  culture  and  social  effectiveness.  Some  sporadic 
cases  of  talent  occur,  as  Derham,  the  Negro  physician, 
whom  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush,  in  17S8,  found  "  very  learned.'"' 
Especially,  however,  to  be  noted  are  Richard  Allen, ^  a 
former  slave  of  the  Chew  family,  and  Absalom  Jones,'"  a 
Delaware  Negro.  These  two  were  real  leaders  and  actually 
succeeded  to  a  remarkable  degree  in  organizing  the  freed- 
men  for  group  action.  Both  had  bought  their  own  freedom 
and  that  of  their  families  by  hiring  their  time — Allen 
being  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and  Jones  also  having  a  trade. 
When,  in  1792,  the  terrible  epidemic  drove  Philadelphians 
away  so  quickly  that  many  did  not  remain  to  bury  the 
dead,  Jones  and  Allen  quietly  took  the  work  in  band, 
spending  some  of  their  own  funds  and  doing  so  well  that 
they  were  publicly  commended  by  Mayor  Clarkson  in 
1794." 

The  great  work  of  these  men,  however,  lay  among  their 
own  race  and  arose  from  religious  difficulties.  As  in  other 
colonies  the  process  by  which  the  Negro  slaves  learned  the 
English  tongue  and  were  converted  to  Christianity  is  not 
clear.  The  subject  of  the  moral  instruction  of  slaves  had 
early  troubled  Penn  and  he  had  urged  Friends  to  provide 
meetings  for  them.-''  The  newly  organized  Methodists  soon 
attracted  a  number  of  the  more   intelligent,  though  the 


"The  Atuerimti  Museum,  1789,  pp.  61-61. 

"For  life  of  Allen,  see  his  "  Autobiography,"  atid  Payne's  "History 
A.  M.  E.  Church.- 

"For  life  of  Joues,  see  Douglass'  "Episcopal  Church  of  St.  Thomas." 

**The  testimonial  was  dated  January  33,  1794,  and  was  as  follows: 
"  Having,  during  the  prevalence  of  the  late  malignant  disorder,  had 
almost  daily  opportunities  of  seeing  the  conduct  of  Absalom  Jones  and 
Ricbard  Allen,  aud  the  people  employed  by  them  to  bury  the  dead,  I, 
with  cheerfulness  give  this  testimony  oi'  my  approbation  of  their  pro- 
ceedings as  far  as  the  same  came  under  my  notice.  Their  diligence, 
attention  and  decency  of  deportment,  afforded  me  at  ihe  time  much 
satisfaction.  William  Clarkson,  Mayor." 

From  Douglass'   "  St.  Thomas' Church." 

"•  See  Thomas,  p.  366. 


Sect  9.]     The  Rise  of  the  Freedman^  iy8o-i820,  19 

masses  seem  at  the  end  of  the  last  century  not  to  have  been 
church-goers  or  Christians  to  any  considerable  extent.  The 
small  number  that  went  to  church  were  wont  to  worship  at 
St.  George's,  Fourth  and  Vine  ;  for  years  both  free  Negroes 
and  slaves  worshiped  here  and  were  made  welcome. 
Soon,  however,  the  church  began  to  be  alarmed  at  the 
increase  in  its  black  communicants  which  the  immigration 
from  the  country  was  bringing,  and  attempted  to  force 
them  into  the  gallery.  The  crisis  came  one  Sunday 
morning  during  prayer  when  Jones  and  Allen,  with  a 
crowd  of  followers,  refused  to  worship  except  in  their 
accustomed  places,  and  finally  left  the  church  in  a  body.* 
This  band  immediately  met  together  and  on  April  12, 
1787,  formed  a  curious  sort  of  ethical  and  beneficial  brother- 
hood called  the  Free  African  Society.  How  great  a  step 
this  was,  we  of  to-day  scarcely  realize ;  we  must  remind 
ourselves  that  it  was  the  first  wavering  step  of  a  people 
toward  organized  social  life.  This  society  was  more  than 
a  mere  club :  Jones  and  Allen  were  its  leaders  and  recog- 
nized chief  officers ;  a  certain  parental  discipline  was 
exercised  over  its  members  and  mutual  financial  aid  given. 
The  preamble  of  the  articles  of  association  says  :  "  Where- 
as, Absalom  Jones  and  Richard  Allen,  two  men  of  the 
African  Race,  who  for  their  religious  life  and  conversation, 
have  obtained  a  good  report  among  men,  these  persons 
from  a  love  to  the  people  of  their  own  complexion  whom 
they  beheld  with  sorrow,  because  of  their  irreligious  and 
uncivilized  state,  often  communed  together  upon  this  pain- 
ful and  important  subject  in  order  to  form  some  kind  of 
religious  body ;  but  there  being  too  few  to  be  found  under 
the  like  concern,  and  those  who  were,  differed  in  their 
religious  sentiments ;  with  these  circumstances  they  labored 
for  some  time,  till  it  was  proposed  after  a  serious  commu- 
nication of  sentiments  that  a  society  should  be  formed 
without  regard  to  religious   tenets,  provided  the  persons 

**See  Allen's  "Autobiography,*'  and  Douglass*  "St.  Thomas." 


20  Negro  in  Philadelphia^  1638-1S20.    [Chap.  III. 

lived  an  orderly  and  sober  life,  in  order  to  support  one 
another  in  sickness,  and  for  the  benefit  of  their  widows 
and  fatherless  children."" 

The  society  met  first  at  private  houses,  then  at  the 
Friends'  Negro  school  house.  For  a  time  they  leaned 
toward  Quakerism ;  each  mouth  three  monitors  were 
appointed  to  have  oversight  over  the  members  ;  loose 
marriage  customs  were  attacked  by  condemning  cohabita- 
tion, expelling  offenders  and  providing  a  simple  Quaker- 
like mariiage  ceremony.  A  fifteen  minute  pause  for  silent 
prayer  opened  the  meetings.  As  the  representative  body 
of  the  free  Negroes  of  the  city,  this  society  opened  com- 
munication with  free  Negroes  in  Boston,  Newport  and 
other  places.  The  Negro  Union  of  Newport,  R.  I.,  pro- 
posed in  1788  a  general  exodus  to  Africa,  but  the  Free 
African  Society  soberly  replied:  "With  regard  to  the 
emigration  to  Africa  you  mention  we  have  at  present  but 
little  to  communicate  on  that  head,  apprehending  every 
pious  man  is  a  good  citizen  of  the  whole  world."  The 
society  co-operated  with  the  Abolition  Society  in  studying 
the  condition  of  the  free  blacks  in  1790.  At  all  times  they 
seem  to  have  taken  good  care  of  their  sick  and  dead  and 
helped  the  widows  and  orphans  to  some  extent.  Their 
methods  of  relief  were  simple:  they  agreed  "for  the 
benefit  of  each  other  to  advance  one-shilling  in  silver 
Pennsylvania  currency  a  month  ;  and  after  one  year's  sub- 
scription, from  the  dole  hereof  then  to  hand  forth  to  the 
needy  of  the  Society  if  any  should  require,  the  sum  of 
three  shillings  and  nine  pence  per  week  of  the  said  money ; 
provided  the  necessity  is  not  brought  on  them  by  their 
own  imprudence."  In  1790  the  society  had  £i,2  gj.  id. 
on  deposit  in  the  bauk  of  North  America,  and  had  applied 
for  a  grant  of  the  Potter's  Field  to  be  set  aside  as  a  burial 
ground  for  them,  in  a  petition  signed  by  Dr.  Rush,  Tench 
Coxe  and  others. 


^ 


"Douglass'  "St.  Thomas." 


Sect  9.]     The  Rise  of  the  Freedman^  ly 80-1 8 20.  21 

It  was,  however,  becoming  clearer  and  clearer  to  the 
leaders  that  only  a  strong  religious  bond  could  keep  this 
untrained  group  together.  They  would  probably  have 
become  a  sort  of  institutional  church  at  first  if  the  question 
of  religious  denomination  had  been  settled  among  them ; 
but  it  had  not  been,  and  for  about  six  years  the  question 
was  still  pending.  The  tentative  experiment  in  Quakerism 
had  failed,  being  ill  suited  to  the  low  condition  of  the  rank 
and  file  of  the  society.  Both  Jones  and  Allen  believed  that 
Methodism  was  best  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  Negro,  but 
the  majority  of  the  societj'',  still  nursing  the  memory  of  St. 
George's,  inclined  toward  the  Episcopal  church.  Here  came 
the  parting  of  the  ways :  Jones  was  a  slow  introspective 
man,  with  a  thirst  for  knowledge,  with  high  aspirations  for 
his  people ;  Allen  was  a  shrewd,  quick,  popular  leader, 
positive  and  dogged  and  yet  far-seeing  in  his  knowledge  of 
Negro  character.  Jones  therefore  acquiesced  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  majority,  served  and  led  them  conscientiously 
and  worthily,  and  eventually  became  the  first  Negro  rector 
in  the  Episcopal  church  of  America.  About  1790  Allen 
and  a  few  followers  withdrew  from  the  Free  African 
Society,  formed  an  independent  Methodist  church  which 
first  worshiped  in  his  blacksmith's  shop  on  Sixth  near 
Lombard.  Eventually  this  leader  became  the  founder  and 
first  bishop  of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
America — an  organization  which  now  has  500,000  mem- 
bers, and  is  by  long  odds  the  vastest  and  most  remarkable 
product  of  American  Negro  civilization.^ 

Jones  and  the  Free  African  Society  took  immediate  steps 
to  secure  a  church  ;  a  lot  was  bought  at  the  comer  of  Fifth 
and  Adelphi  streets  in  February,  1792,  and  by  strenuous 
efibrt  a  church  was  erected  and  dedicated  on  the  seventeenth 


^  There  is  on  the  part  of  the  A.  M.  B.  Church  a  disposition  to  ignore 
AUen*s  withdrawal  from  the  Free  African  Society,  and  to  date  the  A.  M. 
E.  Church  from  the  founding  of  that  society,  making  it  older  than  St 
Thomas.  This,  however,  is  contrary  to  Allen's  own  statement  in  his 
**  Autobiography."     The  point,  however,  is  of  little  real  consequence. 


i 


Negro  in  Philadelphia,  1638-1S20.    [Chap.  III. 


of  July,  1794.  This  was  the  first  Negro  church  in  America, 
and  known  as  the  First  African  Church  of  St.  Thomas  ;  in 

the  vestibule  of  the  church  was  written  :  "  The  people  that 
walked  in  darkness  have  seen  a  great  light."  Bethel 
Church  was  erected  by  Allen  and  his  followers  in  1796,  the 
same  year  that  a  similar  movement  in  New  York  estab- 
lished the  Zion  Methodist  Church.  In  1794,  too,  the 
Methodists  of  St.  George's,  viewing  with  some  chagrin  the 
widespread  withdrawal  of  Negroes  from  their  body,  estab- 
lished a  mission  at  Camperdown,  in  the  northeastern  part 
of  the  city,  which  eventually  became  the  present  Zoar 
Church. 

The  general  outlook  for  the  Negroes  at  this  period  was 
encouraging,  notwithstanding  the  low  condition  of  the 
masses  of  the  race.  In  1788  Pennsylvania  amended  the 
Act  of  1780,  so  as  to  prevent  the  internal  and  foreign  slave 
trade,  and  correct  kidnapping  and  other  abuses  that  had 
arisen.  ^  The  convention  which  adopted  the  Constitution  of 
1790  had,  in  spite  of  opposition  in  the  convention,  refused 
to  insert  the  word  "  white  "  in  the  q!iali6cations  for  voters, 
and  thus  gave  the  right  of  suffrage  to  free  Negro  property 
holders  ;  a  right  which  they  held,  and,  in  most  counties  of 
the  State,  exercised  until  1837.  ™  The  general  conference 
of  Abolition  Societies,  held  in  Philadelphia  in  1 794,  started 
an  agitation  which,  when  reinforced  by  the  news  of  the 
Haytian  revolt,  resulted  in  the  national  statute  of  1794,  for- 
bidding the  export  slave  trade.  ^'  In  1799  and  iSoo  Absalom 
Jones  led  the  Negroes  to  address  a  petition  to  the  Legisla- 
ture, praying  for  immediate  abolition  of  slavery,  and  to 
Congress  against  the  fugitive  slave  law,  and  asking  pros- 
pective emancipation  for  all  Negroes.  This  latter  petition 
was  presented  by  Congressman  Wain,  and  created  an  uproar 


"•Carey  &  Bioren.  Ch.  394.     DuBois'  "Slave  Trade,"  p.  131, 
"The  conatitntioii,  aa  reported,  had   the  word   "  white,"  but  this  was 
struck  out  at  the  instance  of  GaUatin.      Cf.  Cb.  XVII. 
"Cf.  DuBois'  "Slave  Trade,"  Chapter  VII. 


J 


Sect.  9.]     The  Rise  of  the  Freedman^  1^80-1820.  23 

in  the  House  of  Representatives ;  it  was  charged  that 
the  petition  was  instigated  by  the  Haytian  revolutionists 
and  finally  the  Negroes  were  censured  for  certain  parts  of 
the  petition.  " 

The  condition  of  the  Negroes  of  the  city  in  the  last 
decade  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  first  two  decades  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  although  without  doubt  bad,  slowly 
improved ;  an  insurance  society,  in  1796,  took  the  benefi- 
cial features  of  the  old  Free  African  Society.  Some  small 
essays  were  made  in  business,  mostly  in  small  street  stands, 
near  the  wharves  ;  and  many  were  in  the  trades  of  all  kinds. 
Between  1800  and  1810  the  city  Negro  population  con- 
tinued to  increase,  so  that  at  the  latter  date  there  were 
100,688  whites  and  10,522  blacks  in  the  city,  the  Negroes 
thus  forming  the  largest  per  cent  of  the  population  of  the 
city  that  they  have  ever  attained.  The  free  Negroes  also 
began  to  increase  from  the  effect  of  the  abolition  law. 
The  school  established  in  1770  continued,  and  was  endowed 
by  bequests  from  whites  and  Negroes.  It  had  414  pupils 
by  181 3.  In  this  same  year  there  were  six  Negro  churches 
and  eleven  benevolent  societies.  When  the  war  broke  out 
many  Philadelphia  Negroes  were  engaged  on  land  and  sea. 
Among  these  was  James  Forten — a  fine  character,  expres- 
sive of  the  best  Negro  development  of  the  time.  Bom  in 
1766,  and  educated  by  Benezet,  he  "  was  a  gentleman  by 
nature,  easy  in  manner  and  able  in  intercourse ;  popular  as 
a  man  of  trade  or  gentleman  of  the  pave,  and  well  received 
by  the  gentry  of  lighter  shade."  ^  For  years  he  conducted 
a  sail-making  trade,  employing  both  whites  and  Negroes. 
In  1 81 4  he,  Jones,  Allen  and  others  were  asked,  in  the 
midst  of  the  alarm  felt  at  the  approach  of  the  British,  to 
raise  colored  troops.  A  meeting  was  called  and  2500 
volunteers  secured,  or   three-fourths   of  the  adult   male 

•*  **Aiinals  of  Congress,"  6  Cong.,  ISess.,  pp.  229-45.    DuBois'  "Slave 
Trade,"  pp.  81-83. 
"Quoted  by  W.  C  Bolivar  in  Philadelphia  TVibune, 


24  Negro  in  Philadelphia^  i6j8-i820.   [Chap.  III. 

population ;  they  marched  to  Gray's  Ferry  and  threw  up 
fortifications.  A  battalion  for  service  in  the  field  was 
formed,  but  the  war  closed  before  they  reached  the  front.  ** 

The  Negroes  at  this  time  held  about  $250,000  of  city 
property,  and  on  the  whole  showed  great  progress  since 
1780.  At  the  same  time  there  were  many  evidences  of  the 
effects  of  slavery.  The  first  set  of  men  emancipated  by 
law  were  freed  in  1808,  and  probably  many  entitled  to  free- 
dom were  held  longer  than  the  law  allowed  or  sold  out  of 
the  State.  As  late  as  1794  some  Quakers  still  held  slaves, 
and  the  papers  of  the  day  commonly  contain  such  adver- 
tisements, as : 

"  To  be  Sold  for  want  of  Employ,  For  a  term  of  years,  a 
smart  active  Negro  boy,  fifteen  years  of  age.  Enquire  at 
Robert  McGee's  board  yard.  Vine  street  wharf."  ^ 


'*Delany'8  **  Colored  People,**  p.  74. 

*  Danlap*8  American  Daily  Advertiser^  July  4,  1791.  William  White 
had  a  large  commission-house  on  the  wharves  about  this  time.  Con- 
siderable praise  is  given  the  Insurance  Society  of  1796  for  its  good  man- 
agement Cf.  *  'History  of  the  Insurance  Companies  of  North  America.  * '  In 
1817  the  first  convention  of  Free  Negroes  was  held  here,  through  the 
efforts  of  Jones  and  Porten. 


LIBRARY  OF  THE 
LELAtW  ST  A  ^j  FORD  JR.  UfJ^-RSITY. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   NEGRO  IN   PHILADEI*PHIA,  1820-1896. 

10.  Fugitives  and  Foreigners,  1820-1840. — Five  social 
developments  made  the  decades  from  1820  to  1840  critical 
for  the  nation  and  for  the  Philadelphia  Negroes  ;  first,  the 
impulse  of  the  industrial  revolution  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury ;  second,  the  reaction  and  recovery  succeeding  the  War 
of  181 2  ;  third,  the  rapid  increase  of  foreign  immigration  ; 
fourth,  the  increase  of  free  Negroes  and  fugitive  slaves, 
especially  in  Philadelphia ;  fifth,  the  rise  of  the  Abolitionists 
and  the  slavery  controversy. 

Philadelphia  was  the  natural  gateway  between  the  North 
and  the  South,  and  for  a  long  time  there  passed  through  it 
a  stream  of  free  Negroes  and  fugitive  slaves  toward  the 
North,  and  of  recaptured  Negroes  and  kidnapped  colored 
persons  toward  the  South.  By  1820  the  northward  stream 
increased,  occasioning  bitterness  on  the  part  of  the  South, 
and  leading  to  the  Fugitive  Slave  Act  of  1820,  and  the 
counter  acts  of  Pennsylvania  in  1826  and  1827.*  During 
this  time  new  installments  of  Pennsylvania  freedmen,  and 
especially  their  children,  began  to  flock  to^  Philadelphia. 
At  the  same  time  the  stream  of  foreign  immigration  to  this 
country  began  to  swell,  and  by  1830  aggregated  half  a 
million  souls  annually.  The  result  of  these  movements 
proved  disastrous  to  the  Philadelphia  Negro ;  the  better 
classes  of  them — the  Joneses,  Aliens  and  Fortens — could  not 
escape  into  the  mass  of  white  population  and  leave  the  new 

1  These  laws  were  especially  directed  against  kidnapping,  and  were 
designed  to  protect  free  Negroes.  See  Appendix  B.  The  law  of  1826 
was  declared  unconstitutional  in  1S42  by  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  See 
16  Peters,  500  ff. 

(25) 


a6  Negro  in  Philadelphia,  1S20-1896.    [Chap.  IV. 


Negroes  to  fight  out  their  battles  with  the  foreigners.  No 
distinction  was  drawn  between  Negroes,  least  of  all  by  the 
new  Sonthern  families  who  now  made  Philadelphia  their 
home  and  were  not  unnaturally  stirred  to  unreasoning 
prejudice  by  the  slavery  agitation. 

To  this  was  added  a  fierce  economic  struggle,  a  renewal 
of  the  fight  of  the  eighteenth  centnrj'  against  Negro  work- 
men. The  new  industries  attracted  the  Irish,  Germans 
and  other  immigrants ;  Americans,  too,  were  flocking  to 
the  city,  and  soon  to  natural  race  antipathies  was  added  a 
determined  effort  to  displace  Negro  labor — an  effort  which 
had  the  aroused  prejudice  of  many  of  the  better  classes, 
and  the  poor  quality  of  the  new  black  immigrants  to  give 
it  aid  and  comfort.  To  all  this  was  soon  added  a  problem 
of  crime  and  poverty.  Numerous  complaints  of  petty 
thefts,  house-breaking,  and  assaults  on  peaceable  citizens 
were  traced  to  certain  classes  of  Negroes.  In  vain  did  the 
better  class,  led  by  men  like  Forten,  protest  by  public 
meetings  their  condemnation  of  such  crime,"  the  tide  had 
set  against  the  Negro  strongly,  and  the  whole  period  from 
1820  to  1840  became  a  time  of  retrogression  for  the  mass 
of  the  race,  and  of  discountenance  and  repression  from  the 
whites. 

By  1830  the  black  population  of  the  city  and  districts 
had  increased  to  15,624,  an  increase  of  27  per  cent  for  the 
decade  r820*to  1830,  and  of  48  per  cent  since  181  o.  Never- 
theless, the  growth  of  the  city  had  far  outstripped  this  ;  by 
1830  the  county  had  nearly  175,000  whites,  among  whom 
was  a  rapidly  increasing  contingent  of  5000  foreigners.  So 
intense  was  the  race  antipathy  among  the  lower  classes, 
and  so  much  countenance  did  it  receive  from  the  middle 
and  upper  class,  that  there  began,  in  1829,  a  series  of 
riots  directed  chiefly  against  Negroes,  which  recurred  fre- 
quently until  about  1840,  and   did  not  wholly  cease  until 


*A   meeting  of   Memoes    held   ia    iSii,   at   the  A.    M,    H.   Ctiurch, 
(lenoniiced  crime  and  Negro  criminals. 


J 


Sect,  lo.]     Fugitives  and  Foreigners^  1820— 1840,  27 

after  the  war.  These  riots  were  occasioned  by  various 
incidents,  but  the  underlying  cause  was  the  same :  the  simul- 
taneous influx  of  freedmen,  fugitives  and  foreigners  into 
a  large  city,  and  the  resulting  prejudice,  lawlessness,  crime 
and  poverty.  The  agitation  of  the  Abolitionists  was  the 
match  that  lighted  this  fuel.  In  June  and  July,  1829,  Mrs. 
Fanny  Wright  Darusmont,  a  Scotch  woman,  gave  a  num- 
ber of  addresses  in  Philadelphia,  in  which  she  boldly 
advocated  the  emancipation  of  the  Negroes  and  something 
very  like  social  equality  of  the  races.  This  created  great 
excitement  throughout  the  city,  and  late  in  the  fall  the  first 
riot  against  the  Negroes  broke  out,  occasioned  by  some 
personal  quarrel.^ 

The  Legislature  had  proposed  to  stop  the  further  influx 
of  Southern  Negroes  by  making  free  Negroes  carry  passes 
and  excluding  all  others  ;  the  arrival  of  fugitives  from  the 
Southampton  massacre  was  the  occasion  of  this  attempt, 
and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  the  friends  of  the  Negro  pre- 
vented its  passage.*  Quakers  hastened  to  advise  against 
the  sending  of  fugitives  to  the  State,  "  as  the  effects  of  such 
a  measure  would  probably  be  disastrous  to  the  peace  and 
comfort  of  the  whole  colored  population  of  Pennsylvania." 
Edward  Bettle declared  in  1832  :  "The  public  mind  here 
is  more  aroused  even  among  respectable  persons  than  it 
has  been  for  several  years,"  and  he  feared  that  the  laws  of 
1826  and  1827  would  be  repealed,  "thus  leaving  kidnap- 
pers free  scope  for  their  nefarious  labors."'^ 

In  1833  ^  demonstration  took  place  against  the  Aboli- 
tionists, and  in  1834  serious  riots  occurred.  One  night  in 
August  a  crowd  of  several  hundred  boys  and  men,  armed 


•Scharf-Westcott's  **  History  of  Philadelphia,**  I,  824.  There  was  at 
this  time  much  lawlessness  in  the  city  which  had  no  connection  with  the 
presence  of  Negroes,  and  which  led  to  rioting  and  disorder  in  general. 
Cf.  Price's  '*  History  of  Consolidation." 

*  Southampton  was  the  scene  of  the  celebrated  Nat  Turner  insurrection 
of  Negroes. 

'  Letter  to  Nathan  Mendelhall ,  of  North  Carolina. 


r 


28  Negro  in  Philadelphia^  1S30-1S96.    [Chap.  IV. 

with  clubs,  inarched  down  Seventh  street  to  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Hospital.  They  were  joined  by  others,  and  all  pro- 
ceeded to  some  places  of  amusement  where  many  Negroes 
were  congregated,  on  Soutli  street,  near  Eighth.  Here  the 
rioting  began,  and  four  or  five  hundred  people  eugaged  in  a 
free  street  fight.  Buildings  were  torn  down  and  inmates 
assaulted  on  Bedford  and  St.  Mary  streets  and  neighbor- 
ing alleys,  until  at  last  the  policemen  and  constables  suc- 
ceeded in  quieting  the  tumult.  The  respite,  however,  was 
but  temporarj'.  The  very  next  night  the  mob  assembled 
again  at  Seventh  and  Baiubridge;  they  first  wrecked  a 
Negro  church  and  a  neighboring  house,  then  attacked 
some  twenty  Negro  dwellings  ;  "  great  excesses  arc  repre- 
sented as  having  been  committed  by  the  mob,  and  one  or 
two  scenes  of  a  most  revolting  character  are  said  to  have 
taken  place."  That  the  riots  occurred  by  prearranged 
plan  was  shown  by  the  signals — lights  in  windows — ^by 
which  the  houses  of  the  whites  were  distinguished  and 
those  of  the  Negroes  attacked  and  their  inmates  assaulted 
and  beaten.  Several  persons  were  severely  injured  in  this 
night's  work  and  one  Negro  killed,  before  the  mayor  and 
authorities  dispersed  the  rioters. 

The  next  night  the  mob  again  assembled  in  another 
part  of  the  city  and  tore  down  another  Negro  church.  By 
this  time  the  Negroes  began  to  gather  for  self-defence,  and 
about  one  hundred  of  them  barricaded  themselves  in  a 
building  on  Seventh  street,  below  Lombard,  where  a  howl- 
ing mob  of  whites  soon  collected.  The  mayor  induced 
the  Negroes  to  withdraw,  and  the  riot  ended.  In  this  three 
days'  uprising  thirty-one  houses  and  two  churches  were 
destroyed  and  Stephen  James  "  an  honest,  industrious 
colored  man  "  killed." 

The  town  meeting  of  September  15  condemued  the  riots 
and  voted  to  reimburse  the  sufferers,  but  also  took  occasion 
to  condemn  the  impeding  of  justice  by  Negroes  when  any 
'Hazard's  "Register,"  XIV.  pp.  126-18,  icx>-20j. 


J 


Sect.  lo.]     Fugitives  and  Foreigners^  1820-1840.  29 

of  their  number  was  arrested,  and  also  the  noise  made  in 
Negro  churches.  The  fires  smouldered  for  about  a  year, 
but  burst  forth  again  on  the  occasion  of  the  murder  of  his 
master  by  a  Cuban  slave,  Juan.  The  lower  classes  were 
aroused  and  a  mob  quickly  assembled  at  the  comers  of 
Sixth  and  Seventh  and  Lombard  streets,  and  began  the 
work  of  destruction  and  assault,  until  finally  it  ended  by 
setting  fire  to  a  row  of  houses  on  Eighth  street,  and  fight- 
ing off  the  firemen.  The  following  night  the  mob  met  again 
and  attacked  a  house  on  St.  Mary  street,  where  an  armed 
body  of  Negroes  had  barricaded  themselves.  The  mayor 
and  recorder  finally  arrived  here  and  after  severely  lectur- 
ing the  Negroes  (!)  induced  them  to  depart.  The  whole 
of  the  afternoon  of  that  day  black  women  and  children 
fled  from  the  city.' 

Three  years  now  passed  without  serious  disturbance, 
although  the  lawless  elements  which  had  gained  such  a 
foothold  were  still  troublesome.  In  1838  two  murders 
were  committed  by  Negroes— one  of  whom  was  acknowl- 
edged to  be  a  lunatic.  At  the  burial  of  this  one's  victim, 
rioting  again  began,  the  mob  assembling  on  Passyunk 
avenue  and  Fifth  street  and  marching  up  Fifth.  The 
same  scenes  were  re-enacted  but  finally  the  mob  was 
broken  up.®  Later  the  same  year,  on  the  dedication  of 
Pennsylvania  Hall,  which  was  designed  to  be  a  centre  of 
anti-slavery  agitation,  the  mob,  encouraged  by  the  refusal 
of  the  mayor  to  furnish  adequate  police  protection,  burned 
the  hall  to  the  ground  and  the  next  night  burned  the 
Shelter  for  Colored  Orphans  at  Thirteenth  and  Callowhill 
streets,  and  damaged  Bethel  Church,  on  Sixth  street.* 

The  last  riot  of  this  series  took  place  in  1842  when  a 
mob  devastated  the   district   between    Fifth   and   Eighth 

'^Ihid,,  XVI,  pp.  35-38. 

•  Scharf-Westcott's  *•  Philadelphia/'  I,  pp.  654-55. 

•Price,  "History  of  Consolidation,*'  etc.,  Ch.  VII.  The  county 
eventually  paid  ^22,658. 27,  with  interest  and  costs,  for  the  destruction  of 
the  hall 


F 


Negro  in  Philadelphia,  1820-18^6.    [Chap.  IV. 


streets,  near  Lombard  street,  assaulted  and  beat  Negroes 
and  looted  their  homes,  burned  down  a  Negro  hall  and  a 
church ;  the  following  day  the  rioting  extended  to  the  sec- 
tion between  South  and  Fit2water  streets  and  was  finally 
quelled  by  calling  out  the  militia  with  artillery.'" 

While  these  riots  were  taking  place  a  successful  effort 
was  made  to  deprive  free  Negroes  of  the  right  of  suffrage 
which  they  had  enjoyed  nearly  fifty  years.  In  1836  a  case 
came  before  the  court  of  a  Negro  who  had  been  denied 
the  right  of  voting.  The  court  decided  in  a  peculiar  de- 
cision that  free  Negroes  were  not  "  freemen  "  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  constitution  and,  therefore  that  Negroes  could 
not  vote."     The  reform  convention  settled  the  matter  by  1 

inserting    the    word     "white"    in    the    qualifications    for  ' 

election  in  the  Constitution  of  1837.'*  The  Negroes  pro- 
tested earnestly  by  meetings  and  appeals.  "We  appeal  to  I 
you"  said  they,  "from  the  decision  of  the  'Reform  Con- 
vention,' which  has  stripped  us  of  a  right  peaceably 
enjoyed  during  forty-seven  years  under  the  constitution  of 
this  commonwealth.  We  honor  Pennsylvania  and  her 
noble  institutions  too  much  to  part  with  our  birthright,  as 
her  free  citizens,  without  a  struggle.  To  all  her  citizens 
the  right  of  suffrage  is  valuable  in  proportion  as  she  is  free; 
but  surely  there  are  none  who  can  so  ill  afford  to  spare  it 
as  ourselves."  Nevertheless  the  right  was  lost,  for  the 
appeal  fell  on  deaf  ears,"  ' 

A  curious  comment  on  human  nature  is  this  change  of 
public  opinion  in  Philadelphia  between  1790  and  1837. 
No  one  thing  explains  it — it  arose  from  a  combination  of 
circumstances.  If,  as  in  1790,  the  new  freedmen  had  been 
given  peace  and  quiet  and  abundant  work  to  develop 
sensible  and  aspiring  leaders,  the  end  would  have  been 

">  Scharf-WestcoU,  I,  pp.  66o-5l. 

"Case  of  Fogg  vs.  Hobbs,  6  Wutta,  353-560-     See  Chapter  XII. 
"See  Chapter  XII  and  Appendix  B. 

■»  Appeal  of  40,000  citiieus,  etc.,  Philadelphia,  i8j8.  Wrilteii  chiefl}' 
by  Ihe  late  Robert  Purvis,  son-in-law  or  James  Forten. 


Sect  lo.]     Fugitives  and  Foreigners  1 8 20-1840,  31 

different;  but  a  mass  of  poverty-stricken,  ignorant  fugitives 
and  ill-trained  freedmen  had  rushed  to  the  city,  swanned  in 
the  vile  slums  which  the  rapidly  growing  city  furnished, 
and  met  in  social  and  economic  competition  equally  ignor- 
ant but  more  vigorous  foreigners.  These  foreigners  outbid 
them  at  work,  beat  them  on  the  streets,  and  were  enabled 
to  do  this  by  the  prejudice  which  Negro  crime  and  the 
anti-slavery  sentiment  had  aroused  in  the  city. 

Notwithstanding  this  the  better  class  of  Negroes  never 
gave  up.  Their  school  increased  in  attendance;  their 
churches  and  benevolent  societies  increased  ;  they  held 
public  meetings  of  protest  and  sympathy.  And  twice,  in 
1 831  and  1833,  there  assembled  in  the  city  a  general  con- 
vention of  the  free  Negroes  of  the  country,  representing 
five  to  eight  States,  which,  among  other  things,  sought  to 
interest  philanthropists  of  the  city  in  the  establishment  of 
a  Negro  industrial  school.**  When  the  Legislature  showed 
a  disposition  in  1832  to  curtail  the  liberties  of  Negroes, 
the  Negroes  held  a  mass  meeting  and  memorialized  the 
lawmaking  body  and  endeavored  to  show  that  all  Negroes 
were  not  criminals  and  paupers ;  they  declared  that  while 
the  Negroes  formed  eight  per  cent  of  the  population  they 
furnished  but  four  per  cent  of  the  paupers ;  that  by  actually 
produced  tax  receipts  they  could  show  that  Negroes  held 
at  least  $350,000  of  taxable  property  in  the  city.  More- 
over, they  said,**  Notwithstanding  the  difiiculty  of  getting 
places  for  our  sons  to  learn  mechanical  trades,  owing  to  the 
prejudices  with  which  we  have  to  contend,  there  are 
between  four  and  five  hundred  people  of  color  who  follow 
mechanical  employments."**  In  1837  the  census  of  the 
Abolition  society  claimed  for  the  Negroes  1724  children  in 
school,  $309,626  of  unencumbered  property,  16  churches 
and  100  benevolent  societies. 


i^See  Minutes  of  Conventions;  the  school  was  to  be  situated  in  New 
Haven,  but  the  New  Haven  authorities,  by  town  meeting,  protested  so 
•vehemently  that  the  project  had  to  be  given  up.     Cf.  also  Hazard,  V,  143. 

»  Hazard's  **  Register,"  IX,  361-62. 


r 


32  Negro  in  Philadelphia,  1820—18^6.    [Chap.  IV. 


II.  The  Guild  of  the  Caterers,  1840-1870. — The  outlook 
for  the  Negro  in  Philadelphia  about  1840  was  not  encour- 
aging. The  last  of  the  first  series  of  riots  took  place  in 
1842,  and  has  been  mentioned.  The  authorities  were 
wakened  to  their  duty  by  this  last  outbreak  of  barbarism, 
and  for  several  years  the  spirit  of  lawlessness,  which  now 
extended  far  beyond  the  race  question  and  seriously  threat- 
ened tlie  good  name  of  the  city,  was  kept  within  control. 
However,  in  1S49,  a  mob  set  upon  a  mulatto  who  had  a 
white  wife,  at  the  corner  of  Sixth  street  and  St,  Mary's, 
and  there  ensued  a  pitched  battle  for  a  night  and  a  day ; 
firemen  fought  with  firemen  ;  the  blacks,  goaded  to  desper- 
ation, fought  furiously ;  houses  were  burned  and  firearms 
used,  with  the  result  that  three  white  men  and  one  Negro 
were  killed  and  twenty-five  wounded  persons  taken  to  the 
hospital.  The  militia  was  twice  called  before  the  disturb- 
ance was  quelled.  These  riots  and  the  tide  of  prejudice 
and  economic  proscription  drove  so  many  Negroes  from 
the  city  that  the  black  population  actually  showed  a 
decrease  in  the  decade  1S40-50.  Worse  than  this,  the  good 
name  of  the  Negroes  in  the  city  had  been  lost  through  the 
increased  crime  and  the  undeniably  frightful  condition 
of  the  Negro  slums.  The  foreign  element  gained  all 
the  new  employments  which  the  growing  industries  of 
the  State  opened,  and  competed  for  the  trades  and  com- 
mon vocations.      The  outlook  was  certainly  dark. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  there  arose  to  prominence  and 
power  as  remarkable  a  trade  guild  as  ever  ruled  in  a  medi- 
Beval  city.  It  took  complete  leadership  of  the  bewildered 
group  of  Negroes,  and  led  them  steadily  on  to  a  degree  of 
affluence,  culture  and  respect  such  as  has  probably  never 
been  surpassed  in  the  history  of  the  Negro  in  America. 
This  was  the  guild  of  the  caterers,  and  its  masters  include 
names  which  have  been  household  words  in  the  city  for  fifty 
years :  Bogle,  Augustin,  Prosser,  Dorsey,  Jones  and  Minton. 
To  realize  just  the  [character    of  this    new    economic 


J 


Sect.  II.]    The  Guild  of  the  Caterers^  1840-1870.  33 

development  we  must  not  forget  the  economic  history  of 
the  slaves.  At  first  they  were  wholly  house  servants  or 
field  hands.  As  city  life  in  the  colony  became  more 
important,  some  of  the  slaves  acquired  trades,  and  thus 
there  arose  a  class  of  Negro  artisans.  So  long  as  the 
pecuniary  interests  of  a  slaveholding  class  stood  back  of 
these  artisans  the  protests  of  white  mechanics  had  little 
effect;  indeed  it  is  probable  that  between  1790  and  1820  a 
very  large  portion,  and  perhaps  most,  of  the  artisans  of  Phil- 
adelphia were  Negroes.  Thereafter,  however,  the  sharp 
competition  of  the  foreigners  and  the  demand  for  new  sorts 
of  skilled  labor  of  which  the  Negro  was  ignorant,  and  was 
not  allowed  to  learn,  pushed  the  black  artisans  more  and 
more  to  the  wall.  In  1837  only  about  350  men  out  of  a 
city  population  of  10,500  Negroes,  pursued  trades,  or  about 
one  in  every  twenty  adults. 

The  question,  therefore,  of  obtaining  a  decent  livelihood 
was  a  pressing  one  for  the  better  class  of  Negroes.  The 
masses  of  the  race  continued  to  depend  upon  domestic 
service,  where  they  still  had  a  practical  monopoly,  and 
upon  common  labor,  where  they  had  some  competition 
from  the  Irish.  To  the  more  pushing  and  energetic 
Negroes  only  two  courses  were  open :  to  enter  into  com- 
mercial life  in  some  small  way,  or  to  develop  certain  lines 
of  home  service  into  a  more  independent  and  lucrative 
employment  In  this  latter  way  was  the  most  striking 
advance  made  ;  the  whole  catering  business,  arising  from 
an  evolution  shrewdly,  persistently  and  tastefully  directed, 
transformed  the  Negro  cook  and  waiter  into  the  public 
caterer  and  restaurateur,  and  raised  a  crowd  of  underpaid 
menials  to  become  a  set  of  self-reliant,  original  business 
men,  who  amassed  fortunes  for  themselves  and  won  general 
respect  for  their  people. 

The  first  prominent  Negro  caterer  was  Robert  Bogle, 
who,  early  in  the  century,  conducted  an  establishment  on 
Eighth  street,  near  Sansom.  In  his  day  he  was  one  of  the 
3 


34  Negro  in  Philadelphia,  1820-18^6.    [Chap.  IV. 

best  known  characters  of  Philadelphia,  and  virtually  cre- 
ated the  business  of  catering  in  the  city."  As  the  butler 
or  waiter  in  a  private  family  arranged  the  meals  and 
attended  the  family  on  ordinary  occasions,  so  the  public 
waiter  came  to  serve  different  families  in  the  same  capacity 
at  larger  and  more  elaborate  functions ;  he  was  the  butler 
of  the  smart  set,  and  his  taste  of  hand  and  eye  and  palate 
set  the  fashion  of  the  day.  This  functionary  filled  a  unique 
place  in  a  time  when  social  circles  were  very  exchisive, 
and  the  millionaire  and  the  French  cook  had  not  yet 
arrived.  Bogle's  place  was  eventually  taken  by  Peter 
Augustin,  a  West  Indian  immigrant,  who  started  a  business 
in  1818  which  is  still  carried  on.  It  was  the  Augustin 
establishment  that  made  Philadelphia  catering  famous  all 
over  the  country.  The  best  families  of  the  city,  and  the 
most  distinguished  foreign  guests,  were  served  by  this 
caterer.  Other  Negroes  soon  began  to  crowd  into  the  field 
thus  opened.  The  Prossers,  father  and  son,  were  prominent 
among  these,  perfecting  restaurant  catering  anJ  making 
many  famous  dishes.  Finally  came  the  triumvirate  Jones, 
Dorsey  and  Minton,  who  ruled  the  fashionable  world  from 
1845-1875.  Of  these  Dorsey  was  the  most  unique  char- 
acter; with  little  education  but  great  refinement  of  man- 
ner, be  became  a  man  of  real  weight  in  the  community, 
and  associated  with  many  eminent  men.  "  He  had  the 
sway  of  an  imperial  dictator.  When  a  Democrat  asked 
his  menial  service  he  refused,  because  '  he  could'not  wait 
on  a  party  of  persons  who  were  disloyal  to  the  government, 
and  Lincoln' — pointing  to  the  picture  in  his  reception 
rooms — '  was    the    government.'  "  "    Jones  was   Virginia 

"Biddle's  "Ode  to  Bogle,"  is  a  well-known  aquib;  Bogle  himself  ia 
credited  with  considerable  wit.  "  You  are  of  the  people  who  walk  in 
darkness."  said  a  promineiit  clergyman  to  him  once  in  a  dimly  lighted 
h«U.  "  But,"  replied  Bogle,  bowing  to  the  distinguished  gentleman,  "  I 
have  Ken  a  great  light, ' ' 

"  See  in  Philadelphia  Times,  October  1 7,  1896,  Ihe  following  notes  by 
"  Megargee  ;"   Dorsey  was  one  of  the  triuinv irate  of  colored  calerera — the 


J 


Sect.  II.]    The  Guild  of  the  Caterers^  i8 40-1870.  35 

born,  and  a  man  of  great  care  and  faithfulness.  He  catered 
to  families  in  Philadelphia,  New  Jersey  and  New  York.*^ 
Minton,  the  younger  of  the  three,  long  had  a  restaurant  at 
Fourth  and  Chestnut,  and  became,  as  the  others  did,  mod- 
erately wealthy/* 

Such  men  wielded  great  personal  influence,  aided  the 
Abolition  cause  to  no  little  degree,  and  made  Philadelphia 
noted  for  its  cultivated  and  well-to-do  Negro  citizens. 
Their  conspicuous  success  opened  opportunities  for  Negroes 
in  other  lines.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Stephen  Smith 
amassed  a  very  large  fortune  as  a  lumber  merchant,  with 
which  he  afterward  handsomely  endowed  a  home  for  aged 


other  two  being  Henry  Jones  and  Henry  Minton — who  some  years  ago 
might  have  been  said  to  rule  the  social  world  of  Philadelphia  through  its 
stomach.  Time  was  when  lobster  salad,  chicken  croquettes,  deviled 
crabs  and  terrapin  composed  the  edible  display  at  every  big  Philadelphia 
gathering,  and  none  of  those  dishes  were  thought  to  be  perfectly  pre- 
pared unless  they  came  from  the  hands  of  one  of  the  three  men 
named.  Without  making  any  invidious  comparisons  between  those  who 
were  such  masters  of  the  gastronomic  art,  it  can  fairly  be  said  that  out- 
side of  his  kitchen,  Thomas  J.  Dorsey  outranked  the  others.  Although 
without  schooling,  he  possessed  a  naturally  refined  instinct  that  led  him 
to  surround  himself  with  both  men  and  things  of  an  elevating  character. 
It  was  his  proudest  boast  that  at  his  table,  in  his  l/ocust  street  residence, 
there  had  sat  Charles  Sumner,  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  John  W.  Forney, 
William  D.  Kelley  and  Fred  Douglass.  .  .  .  Yet  Thomas  Dorsey  had 
been  a  slave;  had  been  held  in  bondage  by  a  Maryland  planter.  Nor  did 
he  escape  from  his  fetters  until  he  had  reached  a  man's  estate.  He  fled 
to  this  city,  but  was  apprehended  and  returned  to  his  master.  During 
his  brief  stay  in  Philadelphia,  however,  he  made  friends,  and  these  raised 
a  fund  of  sufficient  proportion  to  purchase  his  freedom.  Asa  caterer  he 
quickly  achieved  both  fame  and  fortune.  His  experience  of  the  horrors 
of  slavery  had  instilled  him  with  an  undying  reverence  for  those  cham- 
pions of  his  down-trodden  race,  the  old-time  Abolitionists.  He  took  a 
prominent  part  in  all  efforts  to  elevate  his  people,  and  in  that  way  he 
came  in  close  contact  with  Sumner,  Garrison,  Forney  and  others. 

*•  Henry  Jones  was  in  the  catering  business  thirty  years,  and  died 
September  24,  1875,  leaving  a  considerable  estate. 

1*  Henry  Minton  came  from  Nansemond  County,  Virginia,  .at  the  age 
of  nineteen,  arriving  in  Philadelphia  in  1830.  He  was  first  apprenticed 
to  a  shoemaker,  then  went  into  a  hotel  as  waiter.  Finally  he  opened 
dining  rooms  at  Fourth  and  Chestnut     He  died  March  20,  1883. 


36  Negro  in  Philadelphia^  18 20-1896.    [Chap.  IV. 

and  infirm  Negroes.  Whipper,  Vidal  and  Pumell  were 
associated  with  Smith  at  different  times.  Still  and  Bowers 
were  coal  merchants  and  Adger  was  in  the  furniture 
business.  There  were  also  some  artists  of  ability :  Bowser, 
who  painted  a  portrait  of  Lincoln,  and  Douglass  and  Burr ; 
Johnson,  the  leader  of  a  famous  colored  band  and  a  com- 
poser.** 

During  this  time  of  effort,  advance  and  assimilation  the 
Negro  population  increased  but  slowly,  for  the  economic 
struggle  was  too  earnest  for  young  and  indiscriminate  mar- 
riages, and  immigrants  had  been  frightened  away  by  the 
riots.  In  1840  there  were  19,833  Negroes  in  the  county, 
and  ten  years  later,  as  has  been  noted,  there  were  only 
19,761.  For  the  next  decade  there  was  a  moderate  increase 
to  22,185,  when  the  war  brought  a  slight  decrease,  leaving 
the  Negro  population  22,147  in  1870.  Meantime  the 
white  population  had  increased  by  leaps  and  bounds  : 

POPUI,ATlON  OF  PhII,ADBI«PHIA  COUNTY,    1840-1870. 


Date. 


1840 
1850 
i860 
1870 


Whites. 


2.^8,204 
389.cx)i 

543,344 
651,854 


Negroes. 


19.833 
19,761 

22,185 

22,147 


In  1 810  the  Negroes  had  formed  nearly  one-tenth  of  the 
total  population  of  the  city,  but  in  1870  they  formed  but 
little  over  one  thirty-third,  the  lowest  proportion  ever 
reached  in  the  history  of  Philadelphia. 

The  general  social  condition  showed  some  signs  of  im- 
provement from  1840  on.  In  1847  there  were  1940  Negro 
children  in  school  ;  the  Negroes  held,  it  was  said,  about 
$400,000  in  real  estate  and  had  19  churches  and  106 
benevolent  societies.  The  mass  of  the  race  were  still 
domestic  servants — about  4000  of  the  11,000  in  the  city 

^  This  band  was  in  great  demand  at  social  functions,  and  its  leader 
received  a  trumpet  from  Queen  Victoria. 


Sect.  II.]    The  Guild  of  the  CaiererSy  1840-1870.  37 

proper  being  thus  employed,  a  figure  which  probably 
meant  a  considerable  majority  of  the  adults.  The 
remainder  were  chiefly  employed  as  laborers,  artisans, 
coachmen,  expressmen  and  barbers. 

The  habitat  of  the  Negro  population  changed  somewhat 
in  this  period.  About  1790  one-fourth  of  the  Negroes 
lived  between  Vine  and  Market  and  east  of  Ninth  ;  one- 
half  between  Market  and  South,  mostly  in  the  alleys 
bounded  by  Lombard,  Fifth,  Eighth  and  South ;  one- 
eighth  lived  below  South,  and  one-eighth  in  the  Northern 
Liberties.  Many  of  these,  of  course,  lived  in  white 
families.  In  1837  a  quarter  of  the  Negroes  were  in  white 
families,  a  little  less  than  one-half  were  in  the  city  limits 
centring  at  Sixth  and  Lombard  or  thereabouts ;  a  tenth 
lived  in  Moyamensing,  a  twentieth  in  the  Northern  Lib- 
erties, and  the  remaining  part  in  Kensington  and 
Spring  Garden  districts.  The  riots  concentrated  this 
population  somewhat,  and  in  1847,  of  the  20,000  Negroes 
in  the  county,  only  1300  lived  north  of  Vine  and  east  of 
Sixth.  The  rest  were  in  the  city  proper,  in  Moyamensing 
and  in  Southwark.  Moyamensing  was  the  worst  slum 
district:  between  South  and  Fitzwater  and  Fifth  and 
Eighth  there  were  crowded  302  families  in  narrow,  filthy 
alleys.  Here  was  concentrated  the  worst  sort  of  depravity, 
poverty,  crime  and  disease.  The  present  slums  at  Seventh 
and  Lombard  are  bad  and  dangerous,  but  they  are  de- 
cent compared  with  those  of  a  half  century  ago.  The 
Negroes  furnished  one-third  of  all  the  commitments  for 
crime  in  1837,  and  one-half  in  1847. 

Beginning  with  1850  the  improvement  of  the  Negro 
was  more  rapid.  The  value  of  real  estate  held  was  esti- 
mated to  have  doubled  between  1847  ^^^  1856.  The 
proportion  of  men  in  the  trades  remained  stationary  ; 
there  were  2321  children  in  school.  Toward  the  time  of 
the  outbreak  of  war  the  feeling  toward  the  Negro,  in  certain 
classes  softened  somewhat,  and  his  staunch  friends  were 


38  Negro  in  Philadelphia,  iS20-i8g6.   [Chap.  IV. 


enabled  to  open  many  benevolent  institutions ;  in  many 
ways  a  disposition  to  help  thera  was  manifested :  the 
newspapers  treated  them  with  more  respect,  and  they  were 
not  subject  so  frequently  to  personal  insult  on  the  street. 

They  were  still  kept  off  the  street  cars  in  spite  of  ener- 
getic protest  Indeed,  not  until  1867  was  a  law  passed 
prohibiting  this  discrimination.  Judicial  decisions  upheld 
the  railways  for  a  long  time,  and  newspapers  and  public 
opinion  supported  them.  When  by  Judge  Allison's  decis- 
ion the  attitude  of  the  courts  was  changed,  and  damages 
granted  an  evicted  Negro,  the  railway  companies  often 
side-tracked  and  left  cars  which  colored  passengers  had 
entered.  Separate  cars  were  run  for  them  on  some  lines, 
and  in  1865  a  public  ballot  on  the  cars  was  taken  to  decide 
the  admission  of  Negroes.  Naturally  the  conductors 
returned  a  large  majority  against  any  change.  Finally, 
after  public  meetings,  pamphlets  and  repeated  agitation, 
the  prospective  enfranchisement  of  the  freedmen  gained 
what  decency  and  common  sense  had  long  refused." 

Steps  toward  raising  Negro  troops  in  the  city  were 
taken  in  1863,  as  soon  as  the  efficiency  of  the  Negro  soldier 
had  been  proven.  Several  hundred  prominent  citizens 
petitioned  the  Secretary  of  War  and  were  given  permis- 
sion to  raise  Negro  regiments.  The  troops  were  to  receive 
no  bounties,  but  were  to  have  $10  a  month  and  rations. 
They  were  to  rendezvous  at  Camp  William  Penn,  Chelten 
Hills.  A  mass  meeting  was  soon  held  attended  by  the 
prominent  caterers,  teachers  and  merchants,  together  with 
white  citizens,  at  which  Frederick  Douglass,  W,  D.  Kelley 
and  Anna  Dickinson  spoke.  Over  $30,000  was  raised  in 
the  city  by  subscription,  and  the  first  squad  of  soldiers 
went  into   camp  June    26,  1863.      By  December,  three 

"See  Spiers"  "Street  Railway  System  of  Philadelphia,"  pp.  33-27; 
a]M  unpublished  MS.  of  Mr.  Bernbeimer,  on  file  among  the  senior  theses 
In  the  Wharton  SchiMl  of  Finance  and  Economy,  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 


Sect.  1 2.  J    Influx  of  the  Freedmetiy  iSyo-rSpd.  39 

regiments  were  full,  and  by  the  next  February,  five.  The 
first  three  regiments,  known  as  the  Third,  Sixth  and  Eighth 
United  States  Regiments  of  Colored  Troops,  went  promptly 
to  the  front,  the  Third  being  before  Fort  Wagner  when  it 
fell.  The  other  regiments  followed  as  called,  leaving  still 
other  Negroes  anxious  to  enlist" 

After  the  war  and  emancipation  great  hopes  were  enter- 
tained by  the  Negroes  for  rapid  advancement,  and  nowhere 
did  they  seem  better  founded  than  in  Philadelphia.  The 
generation  then  in  its  prime  had  lived  down  a  most  intense 
and  bitter  race  feud  and  had  gained  the  respect  of  the 
better  class  of  whites.  They  started  with  renewed  zeal, 
therefore,  to  hasten  their  social  development. 

12.  The  Influx  of  the  Freedmen,  1870-1896. — The 
period  opened  stormily,  on  account  of  the  political  rights 
newly  conferred  on  black  voters.  Philadelphia  city  politics 
have  ever  had  a  shady  side,  but  when  it  seemed  manifest 
that  one  political  party,  by  the  aid  of  Negro  votes,  was 
soon  to  oust  the  time-honored  incumbents,  all  the  lawless 
elements  which  bad  city  government  for  a  half-century  had 
nurtured  naturally  fought  for  the  old  regime.  They  found 
this  the  easier  since  the  city  toughs  were  largely  Irish  and 
hereditary  enemies  of  the  blacks.  In  the  spring  elections 
of  1 87 1  there  was  so  much  disorder,  and  such  poor  police 
protection,  that  the  United  States  marines  were  called  on 
to  preserve  order.*' 

In  the  fall  elections  street  disorders  resulted  in  the  cold- 
blooded assassination  of  several  Negroes,  among  whom  was 
an  estimable  young  teacher,  Octavius  V.  Catto.  The  mur- 
der of  Catto  came  at  a  critical  moment ;  to  the  Negroes  it 
seemed  a  revival  of  the  old  slavery-time  riots  in  the  day 
when  they  were  first  tasting  freedom  ;  to  the  better  classes 
of  Philadelphia  it  revealed  a  serious  state  of  barbarism  and 
lawlessness  in  the  second  city  of  the  land  ;  to  the  politicians 

"Pamphlet  on  "  Enlistment  of  Negro  Troops/'  Philadelphia  Library. 
"Cf.  Scharf-Westcott,  I,  837. 


40  Negro  in  Philadelphia,  jS20-/Sp6.    [Chap.  IV. 

it  furnished  a  text  and  example  which  was  strikingly 
effective  and  which  they  did  not  hesitate  to  use.  The 
result  of  all  this  was  an  outburst  of  indignation  and  sor- 
row, which  was  remarkable,  and  which  showed  a  deter- 
mined stand  for  law  and  order.  The  outward  expression 
of  this  was  a  great  mass  meeting,  attended  by  some  of  the 
best  citizens,  and  a  funeral  for  Catto  which  was  perhaps 
the  most  imposing  ever  given  to  an  American  Negro." 


"The  following  account  of  an  eye-witness,  Mr.  W.  C.  Bolivar,  is  from 
the  Philadelphia  Tribune,  a  Negro  paper;  "In  the  spring  electiun 
preceding  the  murder  of  Octavius  V.  Catto.  there  was  a  gooil  deal  of 
rioting.  It  was  at  this  election  that  tile  United  States  Marines  were 
brought  into  play  under  the  command  of  Col.  James  Forn«j'.  Theirvery 
presence  had  the  salutary  effect  of  preserving  order.  The  handwriting 
of  political  disaster  to  the  Democratic  party  was  plainly  noticed.  This 
galled  *  the  unlerri&ed,'  and  much  of  the  rancor  was  owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  Negro  vote  would  guarantee  Republican  supremacy  beyond  a 
doubt.  Even  theu  Calto  had  a  narrow  e.scape  through  a  bullet  shot  at 
Michael  Maher,  an  ardent  Republican,  whose  place  of  business  was  at 
Eighth  and  Lombard  streets.  This  assault  was  instigated  by  Dr.  Gilbert, 
whose  paid  or  coerced  hirelings  did  his  bidding.  The  Mayor,  D.  M.  Pox, 
was  a  mild,  easygoing  Democrat,  who  seemed  a  puppet  in  the  hands  of 
astute  couscieucelera  men.  The  night  prior  to  the  day  in  question,  Octo- 
ber lo,  1871,  a  colored  man  named  Cordon  was  shot  down  in  cold  blood 
on  Eighth  street.  The  spirit  of  raobocracy  filled  the  air.  and  the  object 
of  its  spleen  seemed  to  have  been  the  colored  men.  A  cigar  store  kept 
by  Morris  Brown,  Jr.,  was  the  resort  of  the  Pythian  and  Bannelter  mem- 
bers, and  it  was  at  this  place  on  the  night  prior  to  the  murder  that  Catto 
appeared  among  his  old  friends  for  the  last  time.  When  the  hour  arrived 
for  home  going,  Catto  went  the  near  and  dangerous  way  lo  his  residence, 
814  South  street,  aud  said  as  he  left,  '  I  wonld  not  stultify  my  manhood 
by  going  to  my  home  in  a  roundabout  way.'  Wlieu  he  reached  his 
residence  he  found  one  of  its  dwellers  had  his  bat  taken  from  him  at  a 
point  around  the  corner.  He  went  out  and  into  one  of  the  worst  places 
in  the  Fourth  Ward  and  secured  it. 

"  Intimidation  and  assault  began  with  Ihe  opening  of  the  polls.  The 
first  victim  was  Levi  Bolden,  a  playfellow,  as  a  boy,  with  the  chronicler 
of  these  notes.  Whenever  they  could  conveniently  catch  a  colored  man 
they  forthwith  proceeded  to  assail  him.  Later  in  the  day  a  crowd  forced 
itself  into  Emeline  street  and  battered  in  the  brains  of  Isaac  Chase,  going 
Into  his  home,  wreaking  their  spile  on  this  defenceless  man,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  his  family.  The  police  force  was  Democratic,  and  not  only  stood 
idly  by,  but  gave  practical  support.  They  took  pains  to  keep  that  part 
of  the  cily  not  in  the  bailiwick  of  the  rioters  from  knowing  anything  of 


Sect  12.]    Influx  of  the  Freedmen^  1870-1896.  41 

This  incident,  and  the  general  expression  of  opinion 
after  the  war,  showed  a  growing  liberal  spirit  toward  the 


what  was  transpiring.  Catto  voted  and  went  to  school,  but  dismissed  it 
after  realizing  the  danger  of  keeping  it  open  during  the  usual  hours. 
Somewhere  near  3  o'clock  as  he  neared  his  dwelling,  two  or  three  men 
were  seen  to  approach  him  from  the  rear,  and  one  of  them,  supposed  to 
have  been  either  Prank  Kelly  or  Reddy  Dever,  pulled  out  a  pistol  and 
pointed  it  at  Catto.  The  aim  of  the  man  was  sure,  and  Catto  barely  got 
around  a  street  car  before  he  fell.  This  occurred  directly  in  front  of  a 
police  station,  into  which  he  was  carried.  The  news  spread  in  every 
direction.  The  wildest  excitement  prevailed,  and  not  only  colored  men, 
but  those  with  the  spirit  of  fair  play,  realized  the  gravity  of  the  situation, 
with  a  divided  sentiment  as  to  whether  they  ought  to  make  an  assault  on 
the  Fourth  Ward  or  take  steps  to  preserve  the  peace.  The  latter  pre- 
vailed, and  the  scenes  of  camsge,  but  a  few  hours  back,  when  turbulence 
was  supreme,  settled  down  to  an  opposite  state  of  almost  painful  calm- 
ness. The  rioting  during  that  day  was  in  parts  of  the  Fifth,  Seventh  and 
Fonrth  wards,  whose  boundary  lines  met.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that 
the  colored  people  were  passive  when  attacked,  because  the  records  show 
*  an  eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth,'  in  every  instance.  No  pen 
is  graphic  enough  to  detail  the  horrors  of  that  day.  Bach  home  was  in 
sorrow,  and  strong  men  wept  like  children,  when  they  realized^how  much 
had  been  lost  in  the  untimely  death  of  the  gifted  Catto. 

'*  Men  who  had  sat  quietly  unmindful  of  things  not  directly  concerning 
themselves,  were  aroused  to  the  gravity  of  the  situation,  wrought  by  the 
spirit  of  a  mob,  came  out  of  their  seclusion  and  took  a  stand  for  law  and 
order.  It  was  a  righteous  public  sentiment  that  brought  brute  force  to 
bay.  The  journals  not  only  here,  but  the  country  over,  with  one  voice 
condemned  the  lawless  acts  of  October  10,  187 1.  Sympathetic  public 
gatherings  were  held  in  many  cities,  with  the  keynote  of  condemnation 
as  the  only  true  one.  Here  in  Philadelphia  a  meeting  cf  citizens  was 
held,  from  which  grew  the  greater,  held  in  National  Hall,  on  Market 
street,  below  Thirteenth.  The  importance  of  this  gathering  is  shown  by 
a  list  its  promoters.  Samuel  Perkins,  Esq.,  called  it  to  order,  and  the 
eminent  Hon.  Henry  C.  Carey  presided.  Among  some  of  those  in 
the  list  of  vice-presidents  were  Hon.  William  M.  Meredith,  Gustavus 
S.  Benson,  Alex.  Biddle,  Joseph  Harrison,  George  H.  Stuart,  J.  Bffing- 
ham  Fell,  George  H.  Boker,  Morton  McMichael,  James  L.  Claghom,  F. 
C.  and  Benjamin  H.  Brewster,  Thomas  H.  Powers,  Hamilton  Disston, 
William  B.  Mann,  John  W.  Forney,  John  Price  Wetherill,  R.  L.  Ashhurst, 
William  H.  Kemble,  William  S.  Stokley,  Judge  Mitchell,  Generals 
Collis  and  Sickel,  Congressmen  Kelley,  Harmer,  Myers,  Creely,  O'Neill, 
Samuel  H.  Bell  and  hundreds  more.  These  names  represented  the 
wealth,  brains  and  moral  excellence  of  this  community.  John  Goforth, 
the  eminent  lawyer,  read  the  resolutions,  which  were   seconded    in 


42  Negro  in  Philadelphia,  1820-1896.    [Chap.  IV, 


Negro  in  Philadelphia.  There  was  a  disposition  to  grant 
him,  within  limits,  a  man's  chance  to  make  his  way  in  the 
world ;  he  had  apparently  vindicated  his  right  to  this  in 
war,  and  his  ability  for  it  in  peace.  Slowly,  but  surely, 
therefore,  the  community  was  disposed  to  throw  off  the 
trammels,  brush  away  petty  hindrances  and  to  soften  the 
harshness  of  race  prejudice,  at  least  enough  to  furnish  the 
new  citizen  the  legal  safeguards  of  a  citizen  and  the  per- 
sonal privileges  of  a  man.  By  degrees  the  restrictions  on 
personal  liberty  were  relaxed ;  the  street  cars,  which  for 


speeches  by  Hon.  William  B.  Mann.  Robert  Purvis,  Isaiall  C.  Weira, 
Rev.  J.  Walker  Jaclcson,  Gen.  C.  H.  T.  Collis  and  Hon.  Alex.  K. 
McClure.  These  all  breathed  the  same  spirit,  tbe  condemnation  of  mob 
law  and  a  demand  for  equal  and  exact  justice  to  all.  The  speech  of  Col. 
McClurc  stands  out  boldly  among  the  greatest  forensic  efforts  ever  known 
to  our  city.  His  central  thought  was  '  the  unwritten  law,'  which  made 
an  impression  beyond  my  power  to  convey.  In  the  meanwhile,  smaller 
meetings  were  held  in  all  parts  of  the  city  to  record  their  earnest  protest 
against  the  brute  force  of  the  day  before.  That  was  the  end  of  disorder 
in  a  large  scale  here.  Oq  the  sixteenth  of  October  the  funeral  occurred. 
The  body  lay  in  state  at  the  armory  of  the  First  Regiment,  Broad  and 
Race  Btreels,  and  was  guarded  by  the  military.  Not  since  the  funeral 
cortege  of  President  Lincoln  had  there  been  one  as  latge  or  as  imposing 
in  Philadelphia.  Outside  of  the  Third  Brigade,  N.  G.  P.,  detachedcom- 
mands  from  the  First  Division,  and  the  military  from  New  Jersey,  there 
were  civic  organizations  by  the  hundreds  from  Philadelphia,  to  say 
nothing  of  various  bodies  from  Washington,  Baltimore,  Wilmington, 
New  York  and  adjacent  places.  All  the  city  offices  were  closed,  beside 
many  schools.  City  Councils  attended  in  a  body,  the  State  Legislature 
was  present,  all  the  city  employes  marched  in  tine,  and  personal  Cnends 
came  from  far  and  near  to  testify  their  practical  sympathy.  The  military 
was  under  the  command  of  General  Louis  Wagner,  and  the  civic  bodies 
marshaled  by  Robert  M.  Adger,  The  pall-bearers  were  Lieutenant  Colo- 
nel Ira  D,  Cliff,  Majors  John  W.  Simpson  and  James  H.  Crocker,  Captaina 
J.  F.  Needham  and  R.  J.  Burr,  Lieutenants  J,  W.  Diton,  W.  W.  Morris 
and  Dr.  E.  C.  Howard,  Major  and  Surgeon  of  the  Twelfth  Regiment. 
This  is  but  a  mere  glance  backward  at  the  trying  days  of  October,  1871, 
and  is  written  to  refresh  the  minds  of  men  and  womeu  of  that  day,  as 
well  as  to  chronicle  a  bit  of  sad  history  that  this  generation  may  be 
informed.  And  so  closed  the  career  of  a  man  of  splendid  equipment, 
rare  force  of  character,  whose  life  was  so  interwoven  with  all  that  was 
good  about  us.  as  to  make  it  stand  out  in  bold  relief,  as  a  pattern  for 
tboee  who  have  followed  al^er." 


J 


Sect,  12.]    Influx  of  the  Freedmetiy  i8y 0-1896.  43 

many  years  had  sought  by  every  species  of  proscription  to 
get  rid  of  colored  passengers  or  carry  them  on  the  plat- 
form, were  finally  compelled  by  law  to  cancel  such  rules  ; 
the  railways  and  theatres  rather  tardily  followed,  and 
finally  even  the  schools  were  thrown  open  to  all.**  A 
deep-rooted  and  determined  prejudice  still  remained,  but  it 
showed  signs  of  yielding. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  main  results  of  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Philadelphia  Negro  since  the  war  have  on  the 
whole  disappointed  his  well-wishers.  They  do  not  pretend 
that  he  has  not  made  great  advance  in  certain  lines,  or 
even  that  in  general  he  is  not  better  ofiF  to-day  than  for- 
merly. They  do  not  even  profess  to  know  just  what  his 
condition  to-day  is,  and  yet  there  is  a  widespread  feeling 
that  more  might  reasonably  have  been  expected  in  the  line 
of  social  and  moral  development  than  apparently  has  been 
accomplished.  Not  only  do  they  feel  that  there  is  a  lack 
of  positive  results,  but  the  relative  advance  compared  with 
the  period  just  before  the  war  is  slow,  if  not  an  actual 
retrogression ;  an  abnormal  and  growing  amount  of  crime 
and  poverty  can  justly  be  charged  to  the  Negro ;  he  is  not 
a  large  taxpayer,  holds  no  conspicuous  place  in  the  busi- 
ness world  or  the  world  of  letters,  and  even  as  a  working 
man  seems  to  be  losing  ground.  For  these  reasons  those 
who,  for  one  purpose  and  another,  are  anxiously  watch- 
ing the  development  of  the  American  Negro  desire  to 
know  first  how  far  these  general  impressions,  are  true,  what 
the  real  condition  of  the  Negro  is  and  what  movements 
would  best  be  undertaken  to  improve  the  present  situa- 
tion. And  this  local  problem  is  after  all  but  a  small 
manifestation  of  the  larger  and  similar  Negro  problems 
throughout  the  land. 

For  such  ends  the  investigation,  the  results  of  which  are 
here  presented,  was  undertaken.  This  is  not  the  first  time 
such  a  study  has  been  attempted.    In  1837,  1847  ^^^  ^856 

*»Cf.  Appendix  B. 


44  Negro  in  Philadelphia^  iS2o-i8g6.    [Chap.  IV. 


studies  were  made  by  the  Abolition  Society  aud  the  Friends 
and  much  valuable  data  procured."  The  United  States 
censuses  have  also  added  to  our  general  knowledge,  and 
newspapers  have  often  interested  themselves  in  the  matter. 
Unfortunately,  however,  the  Friends'  investigations  are  not 
altogether  free  from  a  suspicion  of  bias  in  favor  of  the 
Negro,  tlie  census  reports  are  very  general  aud  newspaper 
articles  necessarily  hurried  and  inaccurate.  This  study 
seeks  to  cull  judiciously  from  all  these  sources  and  others, 
and  to  add  to  them  specially  collected  data  for  the  years 
1896  and  1897, 

Before,  however,  we  enter  upon  the  consideration  of  this 
matter,  we  must  bring  to  mind  four  characteristics  of  the 
period  we  are  considering :  (r)  The  growth  of  Philadelphia ; 

(2)  the   increase  of   the  foreign   population   in    the    city; 

(3)  the  development  of  the  large  industry  and  increase  of 
wealth,  and  (4)  the  coming  in  of  the  Southern  freedmen's 
sons  and  daughters.  Even  Philadelphians  hardly  realize 
that  the  population  of  their  staid  old  city  has  nearly 
doubled  since  the  war,  and  that  consequently  it  is  not  the 
same  place,  has  not  the  same  spirit,  as  formerly  ;  new  men, 
new  ideas,  new  ways  of  thinking  and  acting  have  gained 
some  entrance  ;  life  is  larger,  competition  fiercer,  and  con- 
ditions of  economic  and  social  survival  harder  than  formerly. 
Again,  while  there  were  perhaps  125,000  foreign  born 
persons  in  the  city  in  i860,  there  are  260,000  now,  not  to 


"See  Appendix  C.  The  inqniry  of  1838  was  by  the  Philadelphia 
Society  for  Promoting  the  Abolition  of  Slavery,  and  the  report  was  in 
two  parts,  one  a  register  of  trades  and  one  a  general  report  of  forty 
pages.  The  Society  of  Friends,  or  the  Abolition  Society,  undertook  the 
inquiry  of  1849,  and  published  a  pamphlet  of  forty-four  pages.  There 
was  also  the  same  year  a  report  on  the  health  of  colored  convicts.  A 
pamphlet  by  Edward  Needles  was  also  published  in  1849,  comparing  the 
Negroea  in  1837  and  1848.  Benjamin  C.  Bacon,  at  the  instance  of  the 
Abolition  Society,  made  the  inquiry  in  1856,  which  was  published  that 
year.  In  1859.  a  second  edition  was  issued  with  criminal  statistics.  All 
these  pamphlets  may  be  consulted  at  the  Library  Company  of  Pblladel- 
phia,  or  the  Ridgway  branch. 


Sect.  12.]    Influx  of  the  Freedmetty  1870-1896.  45 

mention  the  children  of  the  former  bom  here.  These 
foreigners  have  come  in  to  divide  with  native  Americans 
the  industrial  opportunities  of  the  city,  and  have  thereby 
intensified  competition.  Thirdly,  new  methods  of  con- 
ducting business  and  industry  are  now  rife :  the  little  shop, 
the  small  trader,  the  house  industrj^  have  given  way  to  the 
department  store,  the  organized  company  and  the  factory. 
Manufacturing  of  all  kinds  has  increased  by  leaps  and 
bounds  in  the  city,  and  to-day  employs  three  times  as  many 
men  as  in  i860,  paying  three  hundred  millions  annually 
in  wages ;  hacks  and  expressmen  have  turned  into  vast 
inter-urban  businesses:  restaurants  have  become  palatial 
hotels — the  whole  face  of  business  is  being  gradually 
transformed.  Finally,  into  this  rapid  development  have 
precipitated  themselves  during  the  last  twenty  years  fifteen 
thousand  immigrants,  mostly  from  Maryland,  Virginia 
and  Carolina — untrained  and  poorly  educated  countrymen, 
rushing  from  the  hovels  of  the  country  or  the  cottages  of 
country  towns,  suddenly  into  the  new,  strange  life  of  a 
great  city  to  mingle  with  25,000  of  their  race  already  there. 
What  has  been  the  result  ? 

[Note. — There  was  a  small  riot  in  1843  during  the  time 
of  Mayor  Swift.  In  1832  began  a  series  of  literary 
societies — the  Library  Company,  the  Banneker  Society,  etc., 
— which  did  much  good  for  many  years.  The  first  Negro 
newspaper  of  the  city,  the  "Demosthenian  Shield,"  appeared 
in  1840.  Among  men  not  already  mentioned  in  this  period 
should  be  noted  the  Rev.  C.  W.  Gardner,  Dr.  J.  Bias,  the 
dentist,  James  McCrummell,  and  Sarah  M.  Douglass.  All 
these  were  prominent  Negroes  of  the  day  and  had  much 
influence.  The  artist,  Robert  Douglass,  is  the  painter  of  a 
portrait  of  Fannie  Kemble,  which  its  Philadelphia  owner 
to-day  prefers  to  attribute  to  Thomas  Dudley.] 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  SIZE,  AGE  AND  SEX  OP  THE  NEGRO  POPULATION. 

13.  The  City  for  a  Century. — The  population  of  the 
county^  of  Philadelphia  increased  about  twenty-fold  from 
1790  to  1890;  starting  with  50,000  whites  and  2500 
Negroes  at  the  first  census,  it  had  at  the  time  of  the 
eleventh  census,  a  million  whites  and  40,000  Negroes.  Com- 
paring the  rate  of  increase  of  these  two  elements  of  the 
population  we  have : 

Ratbs  op  Incrbasb  op  Nbgrobs  and  Whites. 


Decade  from 

Negroes. 

Whites. 

Decade  from 

Negroes, 

Whites. 

I790-1800  .    . 
1800-1810  .    .    . 
1810-1820  .    .    . 
1820-18^0.    .    . 
1 830-1 840  .    .    . 

176.42^ 

52.93 
13.00 

31.39 
27.07 

42.92% 

35.55 
22.80 

39.94 
37.54 

1840-1850*  .    . 
1850-1860    .    . 
1860-1870*  .    . 
1870-1880    .    . 
1880-1890 

.36% 
12.26 

.17 

43.13 
24.20 

63.30% 

39.67 

19.96 

25.08 

23.42 

•  Decrease  for  Negroes. 

The  first  two  decades  were  years  of  rapid  increase  for  the 
Negroes,  their  number  rising  from  2489  in  1790  to  10,552  in 
1 810.  This  was  due  to  the  incoming  of  the  new  freedmen 
and  of  servants  with  masters,  all  to  some  extent  attracted 
by  the  social  and  industrial  opportunities  of  the  city. 
The  white  population  during  this  period  also  increased 
largely,  though  not  so  rapidly  as  the  Negroes,  rising  from 


*  The  unit  for  study  tbrougbout  this  essay  has  been  made  the  county 
of  Philadelphia,  and  not  the  city,  except  where  the  city  is  especially 
mentioned.  Since  1854,  the  city  and  county  have  been  coterminous. 
Even  before  that  the  population  of  the  ''districts **  was  for  our  purposes 
an  urban  population,  and  a  part  of  the  group  life  of  Philadelphia. 

(46) 


Sect  13.] 


The  City  for  a  Century. 


47 


51,902  in  1790  to  100,688  in  1810.  During  the  next 
decade  the  war  had  its  influence  on  both  races  although 
it  naturally  had  its  greatest  effect  on  the  lower  which 
increased  only  13  per  cent  against  an  increase  of  28.6  per 
cent  among  the  Negroes  of  the  country  at  large.  This 
brought  the  Negro  population  of  the  county  to  11,891, 
while  the  white  population  stood  at  123,746.  During  the 
next  two  decades,  1820  to  1840,  the  Negro  population  rose 
to  19,833,  by  natural  increase  and  immigration,  while  the 
white  population,  feeling  the  first  effects  of  foreign  immi- 
gration, increased  to  238,204.  For  the  next  thirty  years 
the  continued  foreign  arrivals,  added  to  natural  growth, 
caused  the  white  population  to  increase  nearly  three-fold, 
while  the  same  cause  combined  with  others  allowed  an 
increase  of  little  more  than  2000  persons  among  the  Negroes, 
bringing  the  black  population  up  to  22,147.  In  the  last 
two  decades  the  rush  to  cities  on  the  part  of  both  white  and 
black  has  increased  the  former  to  1,006,590  souls  and  the 
latter  to  39,371.  The  following  table  gives  the  exact 
figures  for  each  decade  : 


P0PUI.AT10N  OF  Phii^adblphia,  1790-1890. 


Tlat* 

Whites. 

NcgrocR. 

Totol. 

XJwl\K% 

city. 

County. 

City. 

County. 

City. 

County. 

1790-      .            . 
1800  .... 
1810   .... 
1820  .... 
1830  .... 
1838.      .      .      . 
1840  .... 

1847.      ..      . 
1850  .... 

1856.      .      .      . 

... 
... 
... 
56,220 

•  *        • 

'83.158 

•  •        • 

110,640 

51.902 

74,129 

100,688 

123,746 

173.173 

•  •        • 

238,204 

•  •        ■ 

389,001 

•  •        • 

•  •        • 

•  •        • 

•  •        • 

7,582 

•  •        • 

•  • 

10,507 
11,000? 

10,736 

•  •        • 

2,489 
6,880 

10,552 
11,891 

15,624 
17.500 

19.833 
20,240 

19,761 

*        ■ 

28,552 
41,220 
53,722 
63,802 
80,462 

93.665 

•        •        • 

121,376 

■        •        • 

54.391 
81,009 

111,240 

135.637 
188,797 

•  •        ■ 

258,037 

•  •        • 

408,762 

■        ■        • 

i860.      .      .      . 
1870  .... 
1880.      ..      . 
1890  .... 

543,344 

651,854 

815,362 

1,006,590 

22,185 
22,147 
31,699 
39.371 

565,529 
674,022* 

847,170* 

1.046,964* 

*The!>e  totals  include  Chinese,  Indians,  etc. 


Size,  Age  and  Sex. 


[Chap.  V. 


i 

I 

! 

f 

\ 

1 

i 

1 

1 

i 

h 

1 

1 

IS, 

t 

f!f 

1    ! 

III 

1 

JO, 

' 

'    • 

1 

iS.ooo 

1 

/ 

/ 

/ 

I5,ooo 

/ 

/ 

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/ 

/ 

{l 

s 

= 

! 

i    ! 

i 

% 

! 

t 

[Note. — Each  horizontal  line  represents  an  increment  of 
8500  persons  in  population  ;  the  upright  lines  represent  the 
decades.  The  broken  diagonal  shows  the  course  of  Negro 
population,  and  the  arrows  above  recall  historic  events  pre- 
viously referred  to  as  influencing  the  increase  of  the 
Negroes.  At  the  base  of  the  upright  lines  is  a  figure 
giving  the  percentage  -which  the  Negro  population  formed 
of  the  total  population.] 


Sect  13.] 


The  City  for  a  Century. 


The  Negro  has  never  fonned  a  very  large  percent  of  t 
population  of  the  city,  as  this  diagram  shows  : 


3      A       S       6      7       a       9       10  Perci 


1790 
l&OO 
1610 
ISEO 
1630 
1840 
I8S0 
I8G0 
IB70 
1880 
1890 

■  ■■ 

^^ 

I 

PROPORTION   OF    ff 


;,  POPULATION  OF  F 


A  glance  at  these  tables  shows  how  much  more  sensitive 
the  lower  classes  of  a  population  are  to  great  social  changes 
thaa  the  rest  of  the  group;  prosperity  brings  abnormal 
increase,  adversity,  abnormal  decrease  in  mere  numbers,  not 
to  speak  of  other  less  easily  measurable  changes.  Doubt- 
less if  we  could  divide  the  white  population  into  social 
strata,  we  would  find  some  classes  whose  characteristics 
corresponded  in  many  respects  to  those  of  the  Negro.  Or 
to  view  the  matter  from  the  opposite  standpoint  we  have 
here  an  opportunity  of  tracing  the  history-  and  condition 
of  a  social  class  which  peculiar  circumstances  have  kept 
segregated  and  apart  from  the  mass. 

If  we  glance  beyond  Philadelphia  and  compare  con- 
ditions as  to  increase  of  Negro  population  with  the  situa- 
tion in  the  country  at  large  we  can  make  two  interesting  com- 
parisons :  the  rate  of  increase  in  a  large  city  compared  with 


so 


Sige^  Age  and  Sex. 


[Chap.  V. 


that  in  the  country  at  large ;  and  the  changes  in  the  propor- 
tion of  Negro  inhabitants  in  the  city  and  the  United  States. 

INC&KASS  OP  NBGROBS  IN  THB   UNITBD    STATBS  AND  IN  THS  CiTY 

OP  PHU^DBIrPHIA  COMPARBD. 


Decade. 

Increaoe  in 

Cenaaa  Tear. 

Percentage  of  Negroea 
in  Total  Population  in 

Phila- 
delphU. 

United 
SUtea. 

Phila- 
delphia. 

United 
SUtea. 

1790-1800 .    .    . 
1800-1810  .    .    . 
1810-1^20  .    . 
1820-1830  .    .    . 
i830>i840 .   .   . 
1840-1850.   .   . 
1850-1860.   .   . 
1860-1870.   .   . 
1870-1880  .    .    . 
1880-1890.   .   . 

17M2 

52.93 
13-00 

3^39 
27.07 

.36* 
12.26 
.17* 

43-13 
24.20 

32.33 
37.50- 

28.59 
31.44 
23-40 
26.63 
22.07 
9.86 

34.85 
13-51 

1790  ..... 

1800 

1810 

1820 

1830 

1840 .   .    .   •   • 

1850 

i860 

1870 

1880 

1890 

% 
4.57 
8.49 

9.45 
S.76 

8.27 

739 
4.83 

392 
328 

3-74 
3.76 

% 
19.27 

18.88 

19-03 

18.39 
18.10 

16.84 

15.69 

14.13 
12.66 

13- 12 

"93 

^Decrease. 

A  glance  at  the  proportion  of  Negroes  in  Philadelphia 
and  in  the  United  States  shows  how  largely  the  Negro 
problems  are  still  problems  of  the  country.  (See  diagram 
of  the  proportion  of  Negroes  in  the  total  population  of 
Philadelphia  and  of  the  United  States  on  opposite  page.) 

This  is  even  more  striking  if  we  remember  that  Phila- 
delphia ranks  high  in  the  absolute  and  relative  number  of 
its  Negro  inhabitants.  For  the  ten  largest  cities  in  the 
United  States  we  have : 

Tbn  Largbst  Citibs  in  THB  Unitbd  Statbs  Arrangbd  According 

TO  Nbgro  Popui,ation. 


Proportion 

Cities. 

Negro 
Population. 

Cities. 

of  Negroes  to 

Total 
Population. 

I.  Baltimore  .... 

67,104 

I.  Baltimore  .... 

15.49% 

2.  Philadelphia    .   . 

39.371 

2.  St.  Louis  .   .   , 

594 

3.  St.  Louis   .... 

26,865 

3.  Philadelphia    . 

3.76 

4.  New  York     .   .   . 

23,601 

4.  Cincinnati     .   . 

3.72 

5.  Chicago 

14,271 

5.  Boston       .   .   . 

1.76 

6.  Cincinnati     .   .   . 

11.655 

6.  New  York     .   . 

1.55 

7.  Brooklyn  .... 

10,287 

7.  Chicago.    .   .   , 

8.  Brooklyn  .   . 

1.29 

8.  Boston 

8,125 

1.27 

9.  Cleveland  .... 

2,989 

9.  Cleveland  .    . 

I.I4 

10.  San  Francisco  .    . 

1.847 

10.  San  Francisco 

.61 

Sect  i^ 

!■] 

ra«c 

!(,/» 

raC 

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52 


Size^  Age  and  Sex. 


[Chap.  V. 


fl 

o 

•5 

•^     1  0 

i:  "s  1 1 

•3              *^ 

f5 

5 

0 

H 

•k 

a 

.     0 

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i  3 

t5  & 

Sect  13.] 


The  City  for  a  Century. 


53 


Of  all  the  large  cities  in  the  United  States,  only  three 
have  a  larger  absolute  Negro  population  than  Philadelphia : 
Washington,  New  Orleans  and  Baltimore.  We  seldom 
realize  that  none  of  the  great  Southern  cities,  except  the 
three  mentioned,  have  a  colored  population  approaching 
that  of  Philadelphia : 

COU>R8D*  POPUtATZON  OP  LARGB  SOUTHERN  CiTZBS. 


Colored 

Colored 

Cities. 

Inhabitants. 

Cities. 

Inhabitants. 

Washington,  D.  C.    . 
New  Orleans,  I^   .   . 

75.697 

Nashville,  Tenn.  .   . 

29.395 

64.663 

Memphis,  Tenn.    .   . 

28.729 

Philadelphia,  Pa.    .   . 

40,374* 

Louisville,  Ky.  .   .   . 

28,672 

Richmond,  Va.    .   .   . 

32.354 

Atlanta,  Ga 

28,117 

Charleston,  S.  C.    .   . 

31.036 

Savannah,  Ga.  .   .   . 

22,978 

^  Includes  Chinese,  Japanese  and  civilised  Indians,  an  insignificant  number  in 
these  cases. 

Taken  by  itself,  the  Negro  population  of  Philadelphia  is 
no  insignificant  group  of  men,  as  the  foregoing  diagrams 
show.     (See  page  52.) 

In  other  words,  we  are  studying  a  group  of  people  the 
size  of  the  capital  of  Pennsylvania  in  1890,  and  as  large  as 
Philadelphia  itself  in  1800. 

Scanning  this  population  more  carefully,  the  first  thing 
that  strikes  one  is  the  unusual  excess  of  females.  This 
fact,  which  is  true  of  all  Negro  urban  populations,  has  not 
often  been  noticed,  and  has  not  been  given  its  true  weight 
as  a  social  phenomenon.*  If  we  take  the  ten  cities  having 
the  greatest  Negro  populations,  we  have  this  table  : ' 


'  My  attention  was  first  called  to  this  fact  by  Professor  Kelly  Miller, 
of  Howard  University;  cf.  "  Publications  of  American  Negro  Academy," 
No.  I.  There  is  probably,  in  taking  censuses,  a  larger  percentage  of 
omissions  among  males  than  among  females;  such  omissions  would, 
however,  go  but  a  small  way  toward  explaining  this  excess  of  females. 

'  In  a  good  many  of  the  Eleventh  Census  tables,  '*  Chinese,  Japanese 
and  civilized  Indians,"  were  very  unwisely  included  in  the  total  of  the 
Colored,  making  an  error  to  be  allowed  for  when  one  studies  the  Negro. 
In  most  cases  the  discrepancy  can  be  ignored.  In  this  case  this  fact  but 
serves  to  decrease  the  excess  of  females,  as  these  other  groups  have  an 
excess  of  males.    The  city  of  Philadelphia  has  1003  Chinese,  Japanese 


54 


Sise^  Age  and  Sex. 


[Chap.  V. 


COIfORBD*  POFUULTZON  OP  TKN  CiTIBS  BY  SBX. 


Cities. 


Washineton  .  . 
New  Orleans  . 
Baltimore  .  .  . 
Philadelphia 
Richmond,  Va. 
Nashville  .  .  . 
Memphis  .  .  . 
Oiarleston,  S.  C. 
St.  Louis  .  .  . 
Louisville,  Ky. 


Total 


Proportion 


i,ooo 


Males. 

Females. 

33.831 
28,936 

41.866 

35.727 

29.165 
18,960 

38,131 

21.414 

14.216 

18,138 

13.334 

16,061 

13.333 

15.396 

14,187 

16.849 

13.247 

13.819 

13.348 

15.324 

192.557 

232.725 

1208.5 


^  Includes  Chinese,  Japanese  and  civilised  Indians— an  element  that  can  be 
ignored,  being  small. 

This  is  a  very  marked  excess  and  has  far-reaching  effects. 
In  Philadelphia  this  excess  can  be  traced  back  some  years  : 

Phii^dbi^hia  Nbgrobs  by  Sbx.  * 


County  of  Philadelphia. 

City  of  PhiladelphU. 

Year. 

Males. 

Females. 

Number 

Females 

to  xooo 

Males. 

Year. 

Males. 

Females. 

Number 

Females 

to  1000 

Males. 

1820    .    . 
1838    .    . 
1840    .    . 
1850    .    . 
1890    .    . 

5.220 
6,896 
8,316 

6,671 

9.146 

11.515 

1,091 
1.326 
1.387 

1820     .    . 
1838     .    . 
1840     .    . 
1850     .    . 
1890     .    . 

3,156 
3.772 
3.986 

8,435 
18,960 

4.426 

5,304 

6,521 

11.326 

21.414 

1.383 

1,395 
1,630 

1.348 

1.127 

The  cause  of  this  excess  is  easy  to  explain.     From  the 
beginning  the  industrial  opportunities  of  Negro  women  in 

and  Indians.    The  figures  for  the  whole  United  States  show  that  this 
excess  of  females  is  probably  confined  to  cities : 

Nbgrobs  According  to  Sbx. 


SBCTION. 


United  States 
North  Atlantic 
South  Atlantic 
North  Central 
South  Central 
Western  .  .   . 


MAI«BS. 

PBMAI.BS. 

3.725,561 

3,744.479 

133.277 

136,629 

1,613.769 

1,648,921 

222,384 

208,728 

1,739.565 

1,739.686 

16,566 

10.515 

*  Figures  for  other  years  have  not  been  found. 


Sect  13.]  The  City  for  a  Century.  55 

cities  have  been  far  greater  than  those  of  men,  through  their 
large  employment  in  domestic  service.  At  the  same  time  the 
restriction  of  employments  open  to  Negroes,  which  per- 
haps reached  a  climax  in  1 830-1840,  and  which  still  plays 
a  great  part,  has  served  to  limit  the  number  of  men.  The 
proportion,  therefore,  of  men  to  women  is  a  rough  index 
of  the  industrial  opportunities  of  the  Negro.  At  first  there 
was  a  large  amount  of  work  for  all,  and  the  Negro  ser- 
vants and  laborers  and  artisans  poured  into  the  city.  This 
lasted  up  until  about  1820,  and  at  that  time  we  find  the 
number  of  the  sexes  approaching  equality  in  the  county, 
although  naturally  more  unequal  in  the  city  proper.  In 
the  next  two  decades  the  opportunities  for  work  were 
greatly  restricted  for  the  men,  while  at  the  same  time, 
through  the  growth  of  the  city,  the  demand  for  female 
servants  increased,  so  that  in  1840  we  have  about  seven 
women  to  every  five  men  in  the  county,  and  sixteen  to 
every  five  in  the  city.  Industrial  opportunities  for  men  then 
gradually  increased  largely  through  the  growth  of  the  city, 
the  development  of  new  callings  for  Negroes  and  the  in- 
creased demand  for  male  servants  in  public  and  private. 
Nevertheless  the  disproportion  still  indicates  an  unhealthy 
condition,  and  its  effects  are  seen  in  a  large  percent  of 
illegitimate  births,  and  an  unhealthy  tone  in  much  of  the 
social  intercourse  among  the  middle  class  of  the  Negro 
population.* 

Looking  now  at  the  age  structure  of  the  Negroes,  we 
notice  the  disproportionate  number  of  young  persons,  that 
is,  women  between  eighteen  and  thirty  and  men  between 
twenty  and  thirty-fiye.  The  colored  population  of  Phila- 
delphia contains  an  abnormal  number  of  young  untrained 
persons  at  the  most  impressionable  age ;  at  the  age  when. 


*In  social  gatherings,  in  the  churches,  etc.,  men  are  always  at  a 
premium,  and  this  very  oflen  leads  to  lowering  the  standard  of  admission 
to  certain  circles,  and  often  gives  one  the  impression  that  the  social  level 
of  the  women  is  higher  than  the  level  of  the  men. 


56 


Size^  Age  and  Sex. 


[Chap.  V. 


as  statistics  of  the  world  show,  the  most  crime  is  committed, 
when  sexual  excess  is  more  frequent,  and  when  there  has 
not  been  developed  fully  the  feeling  of  responsibility  and 
personal  worth.  This  excess  is  more  striking  in  recent 
years  than  formerly,  although  full  statistics  are  not 
available : 


Proportion  of  Population. 


Under  5  years 
Under  15  years 
15  to  50  years 
Over  50  years 


1848. 

1880. 

14.7 

9.8 

33<> 

•      •       • 

41.8 

•      •      • 

9.9 

■      •       • 

1890.^ 


7.8 

22.5 

63.6t 
6.  It 


^  Including  Chinese,  Japanese  and  Indians.    1 15  to  55.    %  Over  55. 

This  table  is  too  meagre  to  be  conclusive,  but  it  is  proba- 
ble that  while  tl\e  age  structure  of  the  Negro  urban  popu- 
lation in  1848  was  about  normal,  it  has  greatly  changed  in 
recent  years.  Detailed  statistics  for  1890  make  this 
plainer : 

NBGROBS*  op  PhIIM^DBX«PHIA  by  S9X  AND  AGS,   189O. 


Ages. 


Under  i 

I  to  4    .  . 

5to9   .  . 

10  to  14 .  . 

15  to  19 .  . 

20  to  24 .  . 

25  to  29 .  . 

30  to  34.  . 

35  to  44.  . 

45  to  54.  . 

55  to  64.  . 
65  and  over 
Unknown . 


Total 


Males. 

Per  Cent. 

Females. 

Per  Cent. 

400 

2.1 

369 

1.7 

1,121 

5.9 

1,264 

5.9 

1.458 

7.7 

I.515 

;7.i 

1.409 

7.5 

1,567 

7.4 

2.455 

7.7 

2,123 

9.9 

2.408 

12.9 

3.1.^3 

14.8 

1,521 

135 

2,774 

131 

2,034 

10.9 

2.046 

9-f 

3,375 

18.0 

3,139 

14.8 

1.645 

8.7 

1,783 

8.4 

581 

31 

799 

3-9 

376 

2.0 

726 

3.4 

177 

•        • 

176 

•       • 

18,9*0 

lOO.O 

21,414 

lOO.O 

Tdtal. 


769 

2,385 

2,973 
2.976 
3,578 
5,541 

5,295 
4.080 

6.514 
3.428 

1.380 
1,102 

353 


40,374 


^  Includes  X003  Chinese,  Japanese  and  Indians. 


Comparing  this  with  the  age  structure  of  other  groups 
we  have  this  table  :  * 


<The  age  groupings  in  these  tables  are  necessarily  unsatisfactory  on 
account  of  the  vagaries  of  the  census. 


Sect  13-] 


The  City  for  a  Century, 


Age. 

tx?.«' 

"S".- 

England. 

Pnnce. 

Gcrmaiv. 

trnited 

HUUs. 

Under  lo    . 
lotoao  .   . 
»to»o  .  . 
y>  and  over 

16.37 
27.08 
41.34 

a8.3a 
35.19 
17.40 
39.19 

33-9 

ai.3 

35:? 

17.5 

Si 

34.3 
38.9 

3439 
31.70 

18.34 
35.77 

In  few  large  cities  does  the  age  structure  approach  the 
abnormal  condition  here  presented  ;  the  most  obvious  com- 
parison would  be  with  the  age  structure  of  the  whites  of 
Philadelphia,  for  1890, which  maybe  thus  represented  : 


NEGRO     i 

MALES             AciS            FEMALES 

-p- 

-r 

■  1 1  ■  i  - 

■--|" 

-- 

--L 

- 

■pi" 

"M.I 

1- 

-       i«         ^ 

T 

-- 

^■^. 

1^. 

WHITE     a 
MAUE&         AGu         FEMALES 

- 

- 

- 

1- 

\w 

^ 

, 

.. 

_ 

i 

1 

1 

1 

WlKki— 

We  find  then  in  Philadelphia  a  steadily  and,  in  recent 
years,  rapidly  growing  Negro  population,  in  itself  as  large 
as  a  good-sized  city,  and  characterized  by  an  excessive 
number  of  females  and  of  young  persons. 


S8 


Sise,  Age  and  Sex. 


14.  The  Seventh  Ward,  1896. — We  shall  now  make  a 
more  intensive  study  of  the  Negro  population,  confining 
ourselves  to  one  typical  ward  for  the  year  1896.  Of 
the  nearly  forty  thousand  Negroes  in  Philadelphia  in  1890, 
a  little  less  than  a  fourth  lived  in  the  Seventh  Ward,  and 
over  half  in  this  and  the  adjoining  Fourth,  Fifth  and 
Eighth  Wards : 


Seventh . 
Eighth  . 
Ponrtta    . 


ai,i77 

17.79a 
14.619 


The  distribution  of  Negroes  in  the  other  wards  may  be 
seen  by  the  accompanying  map.     (See  opposite  page.) 

The  Seventh  Ward  starts  from  the  historic  centre  of 
Negro  settlement  in  the  city,  South  Seventh  street  and 
Lombard,  and  includes  the  long  narrow  strip,  beginning  at 
South  Seventh  and  extending  west,  with  South  and  Spruce 
streets  as  boundaries,  as  far  as  the  Schuylkill  River.  The 
colored  population  of  this  ward  numbered  3621  in  i860, 
4616  in  1870,  and  886i  in  1890.  It  is  a  thickly  populated 
district  of  varjing  character ;  north  of  it  is  the  residence 
and  business  section  of  the  city ;  south  of  it  a  middle 
class  and  workingmen's  residence  section  ;  at  the  east  end 
it  joins  Negro,  Italian  and  Jewish  shims ;  at  the  west  end, 
the  wharves  of  the  river  and  an  industrial  section  separat- 
ing it  from  the  grounds  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
and  the  residence  section  of  West  Philadelphia. 

Starting  at  Seventh  street  and  walking  along  Lombard, 
let  us  glance  at  the  general  character  of  the  ward.  Pausing 
a  moment  at  the  corner  of  Seventh  and  Lombard,  we  can 
at  a  glance  view  the  worst  Negro  slums  of  the  city.  The 
houses  are  mostly  brick,  some  wood,  not  verj'  old,  and  in 
general  uncared  for  rather  than  dilapidated.  The  blocks 
between  Eighth,  Pine,  Sixth  and  South  have  for  many 
decades    been    the    centre    of    Negro    population.      Here 


i 


Sect  14.] 


T^  Seventh  Ward,  1896. 


59 


the  riots  of  the  thirties  took  place,  aud  here  once  was  a 
depth  of  poverty  and  degradation  almost  imbelievable. 
Even  to-day  there  are  many  evidences  of  degradation, 


although  the  signs  of  idleness,  shiftlessness,  dissoluteness 
and  crime  are  more  conspicuous  than  those  of  poverty. 


r 


6d  Sisey  Age  and  Sex. 

Tie  alleys'  near,  as  Ratcliffe  street,  Middle  alley,  Brown's 
court,  Barclay  street,  etc.,  are  haunts  of  noted  criminals, 
male  and  female,  of  gamblers  and  prostitutes,  and  at  the 
same  time  of  many  poverty-stricken  people,  decent  but  not 
energetic.  There  is  an  abundance  of  political  chibs,  and 
nearly  all  the  houses  are  practically  lodging  houses,  with 
a  miscellaneous  and  shifting  population.  The  corners, 
niglit  and  day,  are  filled  with  Negro  loafers — able-bodied 
young  men  and  women,  all  cheerful,  some  with  good- 
natured,  open  faces,  some  with  traces  of  crime  and  excess, 
a  few  pinched  with  poverty.  They  are  mostly  gamblers, 
thieves  and  prostitutes,  and  few  have  fixed  and  steady 
occupation  of  any  kind.  Some  are  stevedores,  porters, 
laborers  and  laundresses.  On  its  face  this  slum  is  noisy 
and  dissipated,  but  not  brutal,  although  now  and  then 
highway  robberies  and  murderous  assaults  in  other  parts 
of  the  city  are  traced  to  its  denizens.  Nevertheless  the 
stranger  can  usually  walk  about  here  day  and  night  with 
little  fear  of  being  molested,  If  he  be  not  too  inquisitive,* 
Passing  up  Lombard,  beyond  Eighth,  the  atmosphere 
suddenly  changes,  because  these  next  two  blocks  have  few 
alleys  and  the  residences  are  good-sized  and  pleasant. 
Here  some  of  the  best  Negro  families  of  the  ward  live. 
Some  are  wealthy  in  a  small  way,  nearly  all  are  Philadel- 
phia born,  and  they  represent  an  early  wave  of  emigration 
from  the  old   slum   section.'      To  the  south,  on  Rodman 


'■'In  the  Fifth  Ward  only  there  are  ;7i  small  streets  and  courts; 
Fourth  Ward.  88.  Between  Fifth  and  Sixth,  South  and  Lombard  streets, 
15  courts  and  alleys."  "  First  Annual  Report  College  Settlement 
Kitchen."  p.  6. 

'  In  a  residence  of  eleven  months  in  the  centre  of  the  slums,  I  never 
was  once  accosted  or  insulted.  The  ladies  of  the  College  SettlemeQt 
report  similar  experience.  I  have  seen,  however,  some  strangers  here 
roughly  handled. 

*It  is  often  asked  wbv  do  so  many  Negroes  persist  in  living  in  the 
slums.  The  answer  is.  they  do  not;  the  slum  is  continually  scaling  off 
emigrants  for  other  sections,  and  rcceiviag  new  accretions  from  without. 
Thus  the  efforts  for  social  betterment  put  forth  here  have  often  their  best 


n=s'" 


'JUi^ 


aa 


33 


^tOUt^.  1 1 1  ..f-'' 


Ynir 


T~l!rirWTl-ir| 

LjaUai   i„^. — I 


t| 


-3 


XD 


;l  'i"<i 


EZ^I 


[ 


.-hiidfiny.  So.  rs",  July  j.  il^gj;.     77 


Sect.  14.]  The  Seventh  Ward^  1896.  61 

street,  are  families  of  the  same  character.  North  of 
Pine  and  below  Eleventh  there  are  practically  no  Negro 
residences.  Beyond  Tenth  street,  and  as  far  as  Broad 
street,  the  Negro  population  is  large  and  varied  in  char- 
acter. On  small  streets  like  Barclay  and  its  extension  below 
Tenth — Souder,  on  Ivy,  Rodman,  Salem,  Heins,  Isemin- 
ger,  Ralston,  etc.,  is  a  curious  mingling  of  respectable 
working  people  and  some  of  a  better  class,  with  recent 
immigrations  of  the  semi-criminal  class  from  the  slums. 
On  the  larger  streets,  like  Lombard  and  Juniper,  there  live 
many  respectable  colored  families — native  Philadelphians, 
Virginians  and  other  Southerners,  with  a  fringe  of  more 
questionable  families.  Beyond  Broad,  as  far  as  Sixteenth, 
the  good  character  of  the  Negro  population  is  maintained 
except  in  one  or  two  back  streets.*"  From  Sixteenth  to 
Eighteenth,  intermingled  with  some  estimable  families,  is 
a  dangerous  criminal  class.  They  are  not  the  low,  open 
idlers  of  Seventh  and  Lombard,  but  rather  the  graduates  of 
that  school :  shrewd  and  sleek  politicians,  gamblers  and 
confidence  men,  with  a  class  of  well-dressed  and  partially 
undetected  prostitutes.  This  class  is  not  easily  differen- 
tiated and  located,  but  it  seems  to  centre  at  Seventeenth 
and  Lombard.  Several  large  gambling  houses  are  near 
here,  although  more  recently  one  has  moved  below  Broad, 
indicating  a  reshifting  of  the  criminal  centre.  The  whole 
community  was  an  earlier  immigration  from  Seventh  and 
Lombard.  North  of  Lombard,  above  Seventeenth,  includ- 
ing Lombard  street  itself,  above  Eighteenth,  is  one  of  the 
best  Negro  residence  sections  of  the  city,  centring  about 
Addison  street.  Some  undesirable  elements  have  crept  in 
even  here,  especially  since  the  Christian  League  attempted  to 

results  elsewhere,  since  the  beneficiaries  move  away  and  others  fill  their 
places.  There  is,  of  course,  a  permanent  nucleus  of  inhabitants,  and 
these,  in  some  cases,  are  really  respectable  and  decent  people.  The 
fore  K  that  keep  such  a  class  in  the  slums  are  discussed  further  on. 

'^Guitrlma  street,  for  instance,  is  a  notorious  nest  for  bad  characters, 
with  t>nly  one  or  two  respectable  families. 


6a  Size,  Age  and  Sex.  [Chap.  V. 

clear  out  the  Fifth  Ward  slums,"  but  still  it  remains  a  centre 
of  quiet,  respectable  families,  who  own  their  own  homes 
and  live  well.  The  Negro  population  practically  stops  at 
Twenty-second  street,  although  a  few  Negroes  live  beyond. 

We  can  thus  see  that  the  Seventh  Ward  presents  an  epit- 
ome of  nearly  all  the  Negro  problems;  that  every  class  is 
represented,  and  varying  conditions  of  life.  Nevertheless 
one  must  naturally  be  careful  not  to  draw  too  broad  con- 
clusions from  a  single  ward  in  one  city.  There  is  no  proof 
that  the  proportion  between  the  good  and  the  bad  here  is 
normal,  even  for  the  race  in  Philadelphia;  that  the  social 
problems  affecting  Negroes  in  large  Northern  cities  are 
presented  here  in  most  of  their  aspects  seems  credible,  but 
that  certain  of  those  aspects  are  distorted  and  exaggerated 
by  local  peculiarities  is  also  not  to  be  doubted. 

In  the  fall  of  1896  a  house  to  house  visitation  was  made 
to  all  the  Negro  families  of  this  ward.  The  visitor  went 
in  person  to  each  residence  and  called  for  the  head  of  the 
family.  The  housewife  usually  responded,  the  husband 
now  and  then,  and  sometimes  an  older  daughter  or  other 
member  of  the  family.  The  fact  that  the  University  was 
making  an  investigation  of  this  character  was  known  and 
discussed  in  the  ward,  but  its  exact  scope  and  character  was 
not  known.  The  mere  announcement  of  the  purpose 
secured,  in  all  but  about  twelve  cases, '^  immediate  admis- 
sion.    Seated  then  in  the  parlor,  kitchen,  or  living  room, 

'*The  almost  univeisal  and  unsolicited  testimony  of  better  class 
Kegroes  was  that  the  attempted  clearing  out  of  the  alums  of  the  Filth 
Ward  acted  disastrously  upon  them;  the  prostitutes  and  gamblers  emi- 
grated to  respectable  Negro  residence  districts,  and  real  estate  agents,  on 
the  theory  that  all  Negroes  belong  to  the  same  general  class,  rented  them 
houses.  Streets  lilce  Rodman  and  Juniper  were  nearly  ruined,  and  pro- 
perty wtaicb  the  thrifty  Negroes  had  bought  here  greatly  depreciated.  It 
ia  not  well  to  clean  a  cess-pool  until  one  knowa  where  the  refuse  can  be 
disposed  of  without  general  barm. 

'■  The  majority  of  these  were  brothels.  A  few,  however,  were  bomea 
of  respectable  people  who  resented  the  iDTCstigation  a*  unwarranted  and 
nnneceasary. 


Sect  14.]  The  Seventh  Ward,  i8p6.  63 

the  visitor  began  the  questioning,  using  his  discretion  as  to 
the  order  in  which  they  were  put,  and  omitting  or  adding 
questions  as  the  circumstances  suggested.  Now  and  then 
the  purpose  of  a  particular  query  was  explained,  and  usually 
the  object  of  the  whole  inquiry  indicated.  General  discus- 
sions often  arose  as  to  the  condition  of  the  Negroes,  which 
were  instructive.  From  ten  minutes  to  an  hour  was  spent  in 
each  home,  the  average  time  being  fifteen  to  twenty-five 
minutes. 

Usually  the  answers  were  prompt  and  candid,  and  gave 
no  suspicion  of  previous  preparation.  In  some  cases 
there  was  evident  falsification  or  evasion.  In  such  cases 
the  visitor  made  free  use  of  his  best  judgment  and  either 
inserted  no  answer  at  all,  or  one  which  seemed  approxi- 
mately true.  In  some  cases  the  families  visited  were  not  at 
home,  and  a  second  or  third  visit  was  paid.  In  other  cases, 
and  especially  in  the  case  of  the  large  class  of  lodgers,  the 
testimony  of  landlords  and  neighbors  often  had  to  be  taken. 

No  one  can  make  an  inquiry  of  this  sort  and  not  be 
painfully  conscious  of  a  large  margin  of  error  from  omis- 
sions, errors  of  judgment  and  deliberate  deception.  Of 
such  errors  this  study  has,  without  doubt,  its  full  share. 
Only  one  fact  was  peculiarly  favorable  and  that  is  the 
proverbial  good  nature  and  candor  of  the  Negro.  With 
a  more  cautious  and  suspicious  people  much  less  success 
could  have  been  obtained.  Naturally  some  questions  were 
answered  better  than  others ;  the  chief  difl5culty  arising  in 
regard  to  the  questions  of  age  and  income.  The  ages 
given  for  people  forty  and  over  have  a  large  margin  of 
error,  owing  to  ignorance  of  the  real  birthday.  The  ques- 
tion of  income  was  naturally  a  delicate  one,  and  often  had 
to  be  gotten  at  indirectly.  The  yearly  income,  as  a  round 
sum,  was  seldom  asked  for ;  rather  the  daily  or  weekly 
wages  taken  and  the  time  employed  during  the  year. 

On  December  i,  1896,  there  were  in  the  Seventh  Ward 
of  Philadelphia  9675    Negroes;    4501   males  and  5174 


Size,  . 


e  and  Sex. 


females.     This  total  includes  all  persons  of  Negro  descent, 

and  thirty-three  intermarried  whites."     It  does  not  include 

Nrcro  PopuItAtiom  of  Sevsnth  Ward. 


ab«. 

M.le. 

Female. 

I. "46 
114 

641 

67s 

631 

Total 

4.yi 

j.m 

Grand  total 9,675 

residents  of  the  ward  then  in  prisons  or  in  almshouses. 
There  were  a  considerable  number  of  omissions  among  the 
loafers  and  criminals  without  homes,  the  class  of  lodgers 
and  the  chib-house  habitues.  These  were  mostly  males, 
and  their  inclusion  would  somewhat  affect  the  division  by 
sexes,  although  probably  not  to  a  great  extent.'*  The 
increase  of  the  Negro  population  in  this  ward  for  six  and  a 
half  years  is  814,  or  at  the  rate  of  14.13  per  cent  per  decade. 
This  is  perhaps  somewhat  smaller  than  that  for  the  popula- 
tion of  the  city  at  large,  for  the  Seventh  Ward  is  crowded  and 
overflowing  into  other  wards.  Possibly  the  present  Negro 
population  of  the  city  is  between  43,000  and  45,000.  At 
all  events  it  is  probable  that  the  crest  of  the  tide  of  immi- 
gration is  passed,  and  that  the  increase  for  the  decade  1890 
-1900  will  not  be  nearly  as  large  as  the  24  per  cent  of  the 
decade  1880-1890. 


<•  Twenty-nine  women   and   four   men.     The  question  of  race  inter- 
marriage is  discussed  Ju  Cbnpter  XIV. 

"There  may  have  been  some  duplication  in  the  counting  of  Mrvant 
girls  who  do  not  lodge  where  they  work.  Special  pains  was  taken  to 
count  them  only  where  they  lodge,  but  there  mu^t  have  been  some  errors. 
Again,  the  Seventh  Ward  has  a  very  large  number  of  lodgers;  some  of 
these  form  a  sort  of  ftoatiiig  population,  and  here  w 
were  forgotten  by  landladies  and  others  purposely  omitted. 


Sect  14.] 


TTie  Seventh  Ward^  18^6. 


65 


The  division  by  sex  indicates  still  a  very  large,  and  it 
would  seem,  growing  excess  of  women.  The  return  shows 
1 150  females  to  every  1000  males.  Possibly  through 
the  omission  of  men  and  the  unavoidable  duplication  of 
some  servants  lodging  away  from  their  place  of  service, 
the  disproportion  of  the  sexes  is  exaggerated.  At  any  rate 
it  is  great,  and  if  growing,  may  be  an  indication  of  increased 
restriction  in  the  employments  open  to  Negro  men  since 
1880  or  even  since  1890. 

The  age  structure  also  presents  abnormal  features.'* 
Comparing  the  age  structure  with  that  of  the  large  cities 
of  Germany,  we  have : 


Age. 


Under  20 
20  to  40  . 
Over  40 . 


Negroes  of 
PhiUdelphia. 


25.1 
23.6 


Large  Cities 
of  Germany. 


39-3 
37.2 

235 


Comparing  it  with  the  Whites  and  Negroes  in  the  city 
in  1890,  we  have : 


Age. 


Under  10  . 
10  to  20  .  . 
20  to  30  .  . 
30  and  over 


Negroes  ol 
Philadelphia, 

1896. 
Seventh  Ward. 


12.8^ 
12.3 
28.7 
46.2 


Negroes* 
of 
Philadelphia, 
189a 


15.3J  % 

16.37 
27.08 

41.24 


NaUve  Whites 

of 

Philadelphia, 

189c. 


24.6^ 

19-5 
18.5 

37.4 


includes  1003  Chinese,  Japanese  and  Indians. 

As  was  noticed  in  the  whole  city  in  1890,  so  here  is  even 
more  striking  evidence  of  the  preponderance  of  young  peo- 
ple at  an  age  when  sudden  introduction  to  city  life  is  apt 
to  be  dangerous,  and  of  an  abnormal  excess  of  females. 

^*  There  is  a  wide  margin  of  error  in  the  matter  of  Negroes*  ages,  espe- 
ciaUy  of  those  above  fifty;  even  of  those  from  thirty-five  to  fifty,  the  age 
is  often  unrecorded  and  is  a  matter  of  memory,  and  poor  memory  at  that 
Much  pains  was  taken  during  the  canvass  to  correct  errors  and  to  throw 
out  obviously  incorrect  answers.  The  error  in  the  ages  under  forty  is 
probably  not  large  enough  to  invalidate  the  general  conclusions;  those 
nnder  thirty  are  as  correct  as  is  general  in  such  statistics,  although  the 

5 


CHAPTER  VI. 


CONJUGAL  CONDITION. 


15.  The  Seventh  Ward. — ^The  conjugal  condition  of 
the  Negroes  above  fifteen  years  of  age  living  in  the  Seventh 
Ward  is  as  follows  :* 


Conjugal  Condition. 


Single 

Married 

Widowed 

Permanently  separated 


Total 
Unknown 
Under  15 


Total  population 


Males. 

Per  Cent. 

Females. 

1,482 

1.876 

200 

•       18 

41.4 
52.5 

}      6.1 

1,240 

I.918 

841 

66 

3.576 

125 
800 

lOO.O 

•  •        • 

•  •        • 

4,065 
179 

930 

4,501 

*        •        • 

5.174 

Per  Cent. 


} 


30.5 
47.1 

22.4 


lOO.O 


For  a  people  comparatively  low  in  the  scale  of  civiliza- 
tion there  is  a  large  proportion  of  single  men — ^more  than 
in  Great  Britain,  France  or  Germany  ;  the  number  of  mar- 
ried women,  too,  is  small,  while  the  large  number  of  wid- 
owed and  separated  indicates  widespread  and  early  breaking 


ages  of  children  tinder  ten  is  liable  to  err  a  year  or  so  from  the  truth. 
Many  women  have  probably  understated  their  ages  and  somewhat 
swelled  the  period  of  the  thirties  as  against  the  forties.  The  ages  over 
fifty  have  a  large  element  of  error. 

^  There  are  many  sources  of  error  in  these  returns:  it  was  found  that 
widows  usually  at  first  answered  the  question  '*  Are  you  married?"  in 
the  negative,  and  the  truth  had  to  be  ascertained  by  a  second  question; 
unfortunate  women  and  questionable  characters  generally  reported 
themselves  as  married;  divorced  or  separated  persons  called  themselves 
widowed.  Such  of  these  errors  as  were  made  through  misapprehension, 
were  often  corrected  by  additional  questions;  in  case  of  designed  decep- 
tion the  answer  was  naturally  thrown  out  if  the  deception  was  detected, 
which  of  course  happened  in  few  cases.  The  net  result  of  these  errors  is 
difficult  to  ascertain:  certainly  they  increase  the  apparent  number  of  the 
truly  widowed  to  some  extent  at  the  expense  of  the  single  and  married. 

(66) 


Sect  15.]  The  Seventh  Ward.  6y 

up  of  family  life.*  The  number  of  single  women  is 
probably  lessened  by  unfortunate  girls,  and  increased  some- 
what by  deserted  wives  who  report  themselves  as  single. 
The  number  of  deserted  wives,  however,  allowing  for  false 
reports,  is  astoundingly  large  and  presents  many  intricate 
problems.  A  very  large  part  of  charity  given  to  Negroes 
is  asked  for  this  reason.  The  causes  of  desertion  are  partly 
laxity  in  morals  and  partly  the  diflSculty  of  supporting  a 
family. 

The  lax  moral  habits  of  the  slave  regime  still  show 
themselves  in  a  large  amount  of  cohabitation  without  mar- 
riage. In  the  slum  districts  there  are  many  such  families, 
which  remain  together  years  and  are  in  effect  common  law 
marriages.  Some  of  these  connections  are  broken  by 
whim  or  desire,  although  in  many  cases  they  are  permanent 
unions. 

The  economic  difficulties  arise  continually  among 
young  waiters  and  servant  girls  ;  away  from  home  and 
oppressed  by  the  peculiar  lonesomeness  of  a  great  city, 
they  form  chance  acquaintances  here  and  there,  thought- 
lessly marry  and  soon  find  that  the  husband's  income 
cannot  alone  support  a  family ;  then  comes  a  struggle 
which  generally  results  in  the  wife's  turning  laundress, 
but  often  results  in  desertion  or  voluntary  separation. 

The  great  number  of  widows  is  noticeable.  The  condi- 
tions of  life  for  men  are  much  harder  than  for  women  and 
they  have  consequently  a  much  higher  death-rate.  Unac- 
knowledged desertion  and  separation  also  increases  this 
total.     Then,  too,  a  large  number  of  these  widows  are 


*The  number  of  actually  divorced  persons  among  the  Negroes  is 
naturally  insignificant;  on  the  other  hand  the  permanent  separations  are 
large  in  number  and  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  count  them.  They  do 
not  exactly  correspond  to  the  divorce  column  of  ordinary  statistics  and 
therefore  take  something  from  the  married  column.  The  number  of 
widowed  is  probably  exaggerated  somewhat,  but  even  allowing  for  errors, 
the  true  figure  is  high.  The  markedly  higher  death-rate  for  males  has 
much  to  do  with  this.    Cf.  Chapter  X. 


68 


Conjugal  Condition. 


[Chap.  VI. 


simply  unmarried  mothers  and  thus  represent  the  unchastity 
of  a  large  number  of  women.' 

The  result  of  this  large  number  of  homes  without  hus- 
bands is  to  increase  the  burden  of  charity  and  benevolence, 
and  also  on  account  of  their  poor  home-life  to  increase 
crime.     Here  is  a  wide  field  for  social  regeneration. 

Separating  the  sexes  by  age  periods  according  to  conjugal 
condition  we  have  these  tables : 

Maz^bs. 


Conjugal  Condition. 

15-X9. 

ao-49. 

30-39. 

40-49. 

ZPiM* 

60-69. 

70  and 
over. 

Unk. 
Age. 

Single 

Married    .... 
Widowed        .   . 
Separated    .   .   . 

250 

2 

•  • 

•  • 

783 

474 

7 

3 

43 
9 

90 

396 

53 

5 

23 

212 

42 

I 

6 

79 

30 

.   • 

2 

17 
21 

•     • 

20 

15 
4 

*       • 

Pbmaus. 


Conjugal  Condition. 


Single  .  . 
Married  . 
Widowed . 
Separated 


15-19. 

ao-49. 

30-39. 
222 

40-49' 

50-59. 

60-69 

70  and 
over. 

337 

559 

68 

32 

9 

3 

35 

754 

633 

326 

no 

34 

4 

•      • 

47 

192 

217 

179 

III 

88 

•      • 

23 

22 

12 

5 

I 

I 

Unk. 
Age. 

ID 
22 

9 

2 


When  we  remember  that  in  slavery-time  slaves  usually 
began  to  cohabit  at  an  early  age,  these  figures  indicate 
the  sudden  and  somewhat  disastrous  application  of  the 
preventive  check  to  population  through  the  economic  stress 
of  life  in  large  cities.  Negro  girls  no  longer  marry  in 
their  'teens  as  their  mothers  and  grandmothers  did.  Of 
those  in  the  twenties  over  40  per  cent  are  still  unmarried, 
and  of  those  in  the  thirties  21  per  cent.  So  sudden  a 
change  in  marriage  customs  means  grave  dangers,  as  shown 
by  the  fact  that  forty-five  of  the  married  couples  under 
forty  were  permanently  separated  and  239  women  were 
widowed. 


*  Unfortunately  Philadelphia  has  no  reliable  registration  of  births,  and 
the  illegitimate  birth  rate  of  Negroes  cannot  be  ascertained.  This  is 
probably  high  judging  from  other  conditions. 


Sect  15,] 


The  Seventh  Ward. 


69 


If  we  reduce  the  general  conjugal  condition  to  per  cents, 
we  have  this  table : 


Mbn. 


Conjugal  Condition. 

15-40. 

40-60. 

Over  60. 

Single 

Married 

Widowed 

Separated 

1,333 

1.157 

50 

12 

% 
52.2 

45-3 
}  2.5 

"3 
608 

95 
6 

13.7 
73.9 

}  12.4 

8 
96 

51 

% 

5-1 
62.0 

32.9 

Total 

2.552 

100 

822 

100 

155 

100 

Here  it  is  plain  that  although  a  large  per  cent  of  men 
under  forty  marry  there  is  nevertheless  a  number  who  wait 
until  they  are  settled  in  life  and  have  a  competence.  With 
the  mass  of  Negroes,  however,  the  waiting  past  the  fortieth 
year  means  simply  increased  caution  about  marriage ;  or, 
if  they  are  widowers,  about  remarriage.  Consequently 
while,  for  instance,  in  Germany  84.8  per  cent  of  the  men 
from  forty  to  sixty  are  married,  among  the  Negroes  of  this 
ward  less  than  74  per  cent  are  married.  At  the  same  time 
there  are  indications  of  a  large  number  of  broken  marriage 
ties.  Of  the  men  under  forty  the  bulk  marry  late,  that  is 
in  the  thirties : 


Conjugal  Condition. 


Tangle  . 
Carried  . 
Widowed 
Separated 


ToUl 


30-39. 


29% 
66 


100% 


Turning  now  to  the  women,  we  have  a  table  in  which 


Conlusral 
Condition. 

15-40. 

40-60. 

Over  60. 

Number. 

Per  Cent. 

Number 

Per  Cent. 

Number. 

Per  Cent. 

Single    .... 
Married     .   .   . 
Widowed  .    .   . 
Separated.   .    . 

1,118 
1,422 

239 
45 

39.6 
50.3 

1     10. 1 

100 

436 

/  396 

I     17 

10.5 
46.0 

}    43.5 

12 
38 

{199 

4.9 
150 

1    80.1 

Total  .... 

2,824 

100 

949 

100 

251 

100 

JO 


Conjugal  Condition. 


[Chap.  VI. 


the  noticeable  feature  is  the  extraordinary  number  of  wid- 
owed and  separated  persons,  indicating  economic  stress,  a 
high  death-rate  and  lax  morality.  Such  are  the  social 
results  of  a  large  excess  of  young  women  in  a  city  where 
young  men  cannot  afford  to  marry.  Of  the  women  below 
forty,  we  have  this  tabulation : 


Conjugal  Coodilioo. 

<5->». 

»-19. 

3*-». 

90-6* 

tp.l.% 

54-5 
5.1 

Married 

Widowed 

Separated  .    .           ...... 

30.0 

The  comparatively  large  number  of  separations  is  here 
to  be  noticed,  and  the  fact  that  over  a  fifth  of  the  women 
between  thirty  and  forty  are  unmarried  and  40  per  cent 
are  without  husbands. 

From  all  these  statistics,  making  some  allowance  for  the 
small  number  of  persons  counted  and  the  peculiar 
conditions  of  the  ward,  we  may  conclude  : 

1.  That  a  tendency  to  much  later  marriage  than  under 
the  slave  system  is  revolutionizing  the  Negro  family  and 
incidentally  leading  to  much  irregularity. 

2.  There  is  nevertheless  still  the  temptation  for  young 
men  and  women  under  forty  to  enter  into  matrimony 
before  their  economic  condition  warrants  it, 

3.  Among  persons  over  forty  there  is  a  marked  tendency 
to  single  life. 

4.  The  very  large  number  of  the  widowed  and  separated 
points  to  grave  physical,  economic  and  moral  disorder. 

16.  The  City. — The  census  of  1890  showed  that  the 
conjugal  condition  of  Negroes  in  the  city  was  as  follows : 


Coi.Ji«.lC(m<lltl<«.. 

MBlnonrij 

FeniBle* 

owns 

Number. 

P«Cent. 

Nnmbfr 

PMCeul. 

Single 

Married 

Widowed 

6.047 

7.04a 

603 

'5 

44.0 

5'-3 

4-4 
■3 

6,267 

I;o?l 
35 

37.3 

Total 

13.707 

100 

16,534 

100 

Sect  i6.] 


The  City. 


7» 


Similar  statistics  for  native  whites  with  native  parents 
for  the  city,  are : 


Conjugal  Condition. 


Single 
Harried  . 
Widowed 
Divorced 


Total 


Females 
over  15. 


38.0% 
49.0 

13-7 


100% 


These  figures,  although  six  years  earlier,  for  the  most  part 
confirm  the  statistics  of  the  Seventh  Ward,  except  in  the 
statistics  of  separation.  In  this  respect  the  returns  for  the 
Seventh  Ward  are  probably  more  reliable  as  the  census 
counted  only  actually  divorced  persons.  The  largest  dis- 
crepancy is  in  the  percentage  of  single  females ;  this  prob- 
ably comes  from  the  fact  that  outside  the  Seventh  Ward 
the  single  servant  girls  form  a  large  part  of  the  Negro 
population.  On  the  whole  it  is  noticeable  that  the  conjugal 
condition  of  the  Negroes  approaches  so  nearly  that  of  the 
whites,  when  the  economic  and  social  history  of  the  two 
groups  has  been  so  strikingly  diflferent. 

These  statistics  are  the  best  measurements  of  the  condi- 
tion and  tendencies  of  the  Negro  Home  which  we  have, 
and  although  they  are  crude  and  difficult  in  some  cases 
rightly  to  interpret,  yet  they  shed  much  light  on  the 
problem.  First  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  Negro 
home  and  the  stable  marriage  state  is  for  the  mass  of  the 
colored  people  of  the  country  and  for  a  large  per  cent  of 
those  of  Philadelphia,  a  new  social  institution.  The  strictly 
guarded  savage  home  life  of  Africa,  which  with  all  its 
shortcomings  protected  womanhood,  was  broken  up  com- 
pletely by  the  slave  ship,  and  the  promiscuous  herding  of 
the  West  Indian  plantation  put  in  its  stead.  From  this 
evolved  the  Virginia  plantation  where  the  double  row  of 
little  slave  cabins  were  but  parts  of  a  communistic  pater- 
nalism centering  in  the  Big  House  which  was  the  real  centre 


JZ  Conjugal  Condition.  [Chap.  VI. 

of  the  family  life.  Even  in  Pennsylvania  where  the  plan- 
tation system  never  was  developed  the  slave  family  was 
dependent  in  morals  as  well  as  work  upon  the  master. 
With  emancipation  the  Negro  family  was  first  made  inde- 
pendent and  with  the  migration  to  cities  we  see  for  the  first 
time  the  thoroughly  independent  Negro  family.  On  the 
whole  it  is  a  more  successful  institution  than  we  had  a 
right  to  expect,  even  though  the  Negro  has  had  a  couple  of 
centuries  of  contact  with  some  phases  of  the  monogamic 
ideal.*  The  great  weakness  of  the  Negro  family  is  still 
lack  of  respect  for  the  marriage  bond,  inconsiderate 
entrance  into  it,  and  bad  household  economy  and  family 
government  Sexual  looseness  then  arises  as  a  secondary 
consequence,  bringing  adultery  and  prostitution  in  its  train. 
And  these  results  come  largely  from  the  postponement  of 
marriage  among  the  young.  Such  are  the  fruits  of  sudden 
social  revolution.* 


'  And,  to  teU  the  truth,  contact  with  some  very  unsavory  phases  of  it. 
*  There  can  be  no  doubt  but  what  sexual  looseness  is  to-day  the  pre- 
vailing sin  of  the  mass  of  the  Negro  population,  and  that  its  prevalence 
can  be  traced  to  bad  home  life  in  most  cases.    Children  are  allowed  on 
the  street  night  and  day  unattended;  loose  talk  is  often  indulged  in;  the 
sin  is  seldom  if  ever  denounced  in  the  churches.    The  same  freedom  it 
I        allowed  the  poorly  trained  colored  girl  as  the  white  girl  who  has  come 
'        through  a  strict  home,  and  the  result  is  that  the  colored  girl  more  often 
falls.    Nothing  but  strict  home  life  can  avail  in  such  cases.    Of  course 
there  is  much  to  be  said  in  palliation:   the  Negress  is  not  respected  by 
men  as  white  girls  are,  and  consequently  has  no  such  general  social 
protection;    as   a   servant,  maid,   etc.,   she  has  peculiar    temptations; 
\       especially  the  whole  tendency  of  the  situation  of  the  Neg^o  is  to  kiU  his 
self-respect  which  is  the  greatest  safeguard  of  female  chastity. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SOURCES  OF  THE  NEGRO  POPULATION. 

17.  The  Seventh  Ward. — ^We  have  seen  that  there  is  in 
Philadelphia  a  large  population  of  Negroes,  largely  young 
unmarried  folks  with  a  disproportionate  number  of  women. 
The  question  now  arises,  whence  came  these  people  ?  How 
far  are  they  native  Philadelphians,  and  how  far  immigrants, 
and  if  the  latter,  how  long  have  they  been  here?  Much 
depends  on  the  answer  to  these  questions  ;  no  conclusions 
as  to  the  effects  of  Northern  city  conditions  on  Negroes,  as 
to  the  effects  of  long,  close  contact  with  modern  culture, 
as  to  the  general  question  of  social  and  economic  survival 
on  the  part  of  this  race,  can  be  intelligently  answered  until 
we  know  how  long  these  people  have  been  under  the 
influence  of  given  conditions,  and  how  they  were  trained 
before  they  came.* 

It  is  often  tacitly  assumed  that  the  Negroes  of  Philadel- 
phia are  one  homogeneous  mass,  and  that  the  slums  of  the 
Fifth  Ward,  for  instance,  are  one  of  the  results  of  long 
contact  with  Philadelphia  city  life  on  the  part  of  this 
mass.  There  is  just  enough  truth  and  falsehood  in  such  an 
assumption  to  make  it  dangerously  misleading.  The  slums 
of  Seventh  and  Lombard  streets  are  largely  the  results  of 
the  contact  of  the  Negro  with  city  life,  but  the  Negro  in 
question  is  a  changing  variable  quantity  and  has  felt  city 

^The  chief  source  of  error  in  the  returns  as  to  birthplace  are  the 
answers  of  those  who  do  not  desire  to  report  their  birthplace  as  in  the 
South.  Naturally  there  is  considerable  social  distinction  between 
recently  arrived  Southerners  and  old  Philadelphians;  consequently  the 
tendency  is  to  give  a  Northern  birthplace.  For  this  reason  it  is  probable 
that  even  a  smaller  number  than  the  few  reported  were  really  t>orn  in 
the  city. 

(73) 


74 


Sources  of  the  Negro  Population.   [Chap.  VII. 


influences  for  periods  varying  in  different  persons  from  one 
day  to  seventy  years.  A  generalization  then  that  includes 
a  North  Carolina  boy  who  has  migrated  to  the  city  for 
work  and  has  been  here  for  a  couple  of  months,  in  the 
same  class  with  a  descendant  of  several  generations  of 
Philadelphia  Negroes,  is  apt  to  make  serious  mistakes.  The 
first  lad  may  deserve  to  be  pitied  if  he  falls  into  dissipation 
and  crime,  the  second  ought  perhaps  to  be  condemned 
severely.  In  other  words  our  judgment  of  the  thousands 
of  Negroes  of  this  city  must  be  in  all  cases  considerably 
modified  by  a  knowledge  of  their  previous  history  and 
antecedents. 

Of  the  9675  Negroes  in  the  Seventh  Ward,  9138  gave 
returns  as  to  their  birthplace.     Of  these,  there  were  bom  : 


In  Philadelphia  2939or  32.1  per  cent. 

In  Pennsylvania.ontside  of  Philadelphia  .  526  or   6.0 
In  the  New  England  and  Middle  States  .  485  or   5.3 

In  the  South 4980  or  54.3 

In  the  West  and  in  foreign  lands  ....    208  or    2.3 


<« 


<< 


<« 


4« 


That  is  to  say,  less  than  one-third  of  the  Negroes  living 
in  this  ward  were  born  here,  and  over  one-half  were  bom 
in  the  South.  Separating  them  by  sex  and  giving  their 
birthplaces  more  in  detail,  we  have : 

B1RTHPLAC8  OP  Nbgrobs,  Sbvbnth  Ward. 

Born  in 


PhiladelphU  

Pennsylvania,  outside  of  Philadelphia  .   . 

Virginia 

Maryland        

Delaware 

New  Jersey  • 

District  of  Columbia 

Other  parts,  and  undesignated  parts,  of  the 

South 

Other  New  England  and  Middle  States 

Western  States 

Foreign  countries 

Unknown    

Total       "T"^       T,       ~7-  ' 


Males. 

Females. 

I»307 

1.632 

231 

295 

939 

1,012 

550 
168 

794 
296 

141 
146 

190 
165 

528 
62 
28 

382 
92 
27 

no 
291 

43 
245 

4,501 

5.174 

2.939 
526 

1.951 

1.344 

464 

331 
3" 

910 

154 

55 

153 

537 


9675 


Sect  17.] 


The  Seventh  Ward. 


75 


This  means  that  a  study  of  the  Philadelphia  Negroes 
would  properly  begin  in  Virginia  or  Maryland  and  that 
only  a  portion  have  had  the  opportunity  of  being  reared 
amid  the  advantages  of  a  great  city.  To  study  this  even 
more  minutely  let  us  divide  the  population  according  to 
age  periods : 

BlRTHFI^CB  BY  ACB  PERIODS.        ^ 


Birthplace. 


Philadelphia 

Pennsylvania 

Vimnia,  Maryland, 
New  Jersey,  Dela- 
ware, District  of  Co- 
lumbia   

South  in  general   .  .   . 

North 

West 

Foreign  lands    .... 

Unknown 

Total 


0-9. 

xo-10. 

21-30. 

31-40. 

Over 

40. 

Un- 
known. 

1,004 

8 

737 
52 

502 
185 

289 
no 

168 

XI 
3 

137 
20 

II 

10 

432 

79 
12 

9 

1,564 

375 

45 
12 

1,150 

259 
36 
18 

1,090 

175 
48 

6 

28 

2 
2 
0 

2 
19 

2 
19 

63 
142 

43 
105 

42 
63 

I 
189 

1,211 

1,342 

2,888 

2,010 

1,988 

236 

TotaL 


2,939 
526 


4,401 
910 

154 

55 

153 

537 

9,675 


That  the  Negro  immigration  to  the  city  is  not  an  influx 
of  whole  families  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  83  per  cent  of 
the  children  under  ten  were  bom  in  Philadelphia.  Of  the 
youth  from  ten  to  twenty  about  one-half  were  bom  in  the 
city.  The  great  influx  comes  in  the  years  from  twenty-one 
to  thirty,  for  of  these  but  17  per  cent  were  bom  in  the 
city  ;  of  the  men  and  women  born  between  1856  and  1865, 
that  is,  in  war  time,  about  one-seventh  were  bom  in  the 
city;  of  the  freedmen,  that  is  those  bom  before  1856,  a 
larger  portion,  one-fifth,  were  bom  in  Philadelphia.  The 
wave  of  immigration  may  therefore  be  thus  plotted  : 


The  square  represents  the  Negro  populatiou  of  the 
Seventh  Ward,  divided  into  segments  according  to  age  by 
the  upright  lines  ;  the  shaded  portions  show  the  proportion 
of  immigraats. 

Further  detailed  information  as  to  birthplace  is  given  in 
the  next  table,     (See  pages  77  and  78.) 

Much  of  the  immigration  to  Philadelphia  is  indirect ; 
Negroes  come  from  country  districts  to  small  towns ;  then  go 
to  larger  towns ;  eventually  they  drift  to  Norfolk,  Va.,  or 
to  Richmond.  Next  they  come  to  Washington,  and  finally 
settle  in  Baltimore  or  Philadelphia,'  The  training  they 
receive  from  such  wanderings  is  not  apt  to  improve  young 
persons  greatly,  and  the  custom  has  undoubtedly  helped  to 
swell  the  numbers  of  a  large  migratory  criminal  class  who 
are  often  looked  upon  as  the  product  of  particular  cities, 
when,  as  a  matter  of   fact,  they  are    the   ofTscourings   of 

'Compare  "The  Negroee  of  Parmville:  A  Social  Study,"  in  £W/«/t'ft 
of  U.  S.  Labor  Bureau,  January,  iSgS. 


Sect  17.] 


The  Seventh  Ward. 


n 


PHILADELPHIA— NEGROES  OF  SEVENTH  WARD,  1896. 

BlRTHPI^ACB— MaI,BS  BY  FiVB  AGB  PB&IODS. 


Section 

PUce. 

0-0. 

xo-ao. 

2x-ao. 

31-40. 

Over 

40. 

Un- 
known. 

City. 

Philadelphia 

486 

337 

208 

123 

151 

2 

State. 

Pennsylvania  .   . 

5 

20 

92 

49 

64 

I 

Is 

New  Jersey 

10 

14 

31 

42 

44 

0 

Maryland 

20 

48 

164 

137 

176 

5 

Is 

Virginia 

i9 

48 

420 

268 

178 

6 

District  of  Columbia    . 

6 

13 

55 

50 

22 

0 

1 

Delaware.           .... 

2 

12 

40 

42 

71 

I 

North  Carolina  .... 

5 

21 

97 

63 

35 

0 

South  Carolina  .... 

0 

5 

22 

16 

II 

I 

Georgia 

Florida 

0 

0 

14 

5 

10 

0 

I 

I 

II 

5 

I 

0 

0 

0 

2 

0 

4 

0 

1 

Mississippi 

0 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

Louisiana 

0 

0 

4 

I 

I 

0 

West  Virginia    .... 

0 

I 

13 

3 

4 

0 

Kentucky 

0 

I 

2 

4 

3 

0 

Tennessee 

0 

0 

9 

3 

2 

0 

Missouri 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

0 

Texas    

0 

0 

I 

2 

0 

0 

••South"     ...       . 

I 

5 

55 

50 

29 

0 

•oa 

Massachusetts    .... 

I 

2 

7 

I 

4 

0 

Connecticut 

2 

0 

I 

I 

2 

0 

New  York 

I 

4 

8 

5 

15 

0 

Rhode  Island 

0 

2 

I 

3 

0 

0 

Maine 

0 

0 

I 

I 

0 

0 

Minnesota 

I 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

Nebraska 

0 

I 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

Ohio 

0 

4 

4 

5 

3 

0 

Michigan 

0 

I 

0 

0 

0 

0 

^ 

Illinois 

0 

0 

2 

2 

0 

0 

California 

0 

0 

0 

I 

0 

0 

••West'* 

0 

0 

0 

2 

2 

0 

West  Indies 

0 

0 

37 

30 

24 

0 

Canada 

2 

0 

I 

I 

3 

0 

Africa 

0 

0 

3 

I 

0 

0 

Portugal 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

0 

Mexico 

0 

0 

I 

0 

0 

0 

East  Indies 

0 

0 

0 

I 

0 

0 

Nova  Scotia 

0 

0 

0 

I 

0 

0 

South  America  .... 

0 

0 

0 

2 

I 

0 

? 

Unknown 

8 

7 

87 

56 

25 

108 

78 


Sources  of  the  Negro  Population.   [Chap.  VII. 


PHILADSI^PHIA— NEGROES  OP  SEVENTH  WARD,  1896. 

BlRTHFI«ACB— FBMAI«BS  BY  FiVB  AGR  PERIODS. 


Section 


City. 


8Ute. 


£§ 


? 


PUce. 


Philadelphia  .   .       .   . 

Pennsylvania 

New  Jersey 

Maryland 

Virginia 

District  of  Columbia    . 
Delaware 

North  Carolina  .   .   .   . 
South  Carolina  .... 

Georgia 

Florida 

Alabama 

Mississippi 

Louisiana 

West  Virginia    .   .   .   . 

Kentucky 

Tennessee 

Missouri 

Texas 

Arkansas 

**South»» 

Massachusetts    .   .   .   . 

Connecticut 

New  York 

Rhode  Island 

Maine 

Minnesota 

Ohio 

Michigan 

Delaware 

Kansas 

West  Indies 

Canada  

South  America  .  .   .   . 

Cuba 

Europe* 

Unknown 


0-9. 


518 


15 
16 

35 

13 
I 


8 
I 
2 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 

2 


2 
I 

4 
o 

o 


2 

o 

3 
4 
o 


o 
o 
o 
o 
o 


II 


XO-30. 


400 


32 


19 
92 

129 

31 
26 


31 

4 

3 
I 

o 

3 
o 

I 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

3 


o 
o 

4 
o 

o 


o 
I 
o 
I 
I 


o 
o 
o 
o 

2 


12 


ai-30. 


294 


93 


44 

254 

431 

69 

56 


66 

8 

12 

5 
6 

I 

I 

7 

3 
I 

I 

o 

I 

33 


5 

4 

17 
I 

o 


o 
6 
o 
o 
o 


7 

3 
I 

I 

7 


55 


31-40. 

Over 

40. 

166 

245 

61 

104 

52 

217 
242 

29 
71 

58 

211 

169 
22 

»39 

32 

12 

4 

I 

0 

3 

2 

9 

I 

2 
2 
I 
0 
36 

32 
II 

3 
0 

0 

I 

2 
I 

I 

4 

2 

0 

0 

16 

4 

2 

15 
4 
0 

3 
10 

9 

2 

3 

0 

7 
I 
0 
0 

0 

I 
0 
0 
0 

I 

3 
0 

0 
3 

6 

5 
0 

0 
3 

49 

38 

Un- 
known. 


2 

4 
6 

I 

3 


o 
o 
o 
I 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 


o 
I 

I 
o 
o 


o 
o 
o 
o 
o 


o 
o 
o 
o 
I 


81 


*  Intermarried  whites. 


country  districts,  sharpened  and  prepared  for  crime  by  the 
slums   of  many  cities  through  which  they  have  passed. 


Sect.  17.] 


The  Seventh  Ward. 


79 


Besides  these,  there  is  the  large  and  well-intentioned  class 
who  are  seeking  to  better  their  lot  and  are  attracted  by 
the  larger  life  of  the  city. 

Much  light,  therefore,  will  be  thrown  on  the  question  of 
migration  if  we  take  the  Negro  immigrants  as  a  class  and 
inquire  how  long  they  have  lived  in  the  city ;  we  can  sepa- 
rate the  immigrants  into  four  classes,  corresponding  to  the 
waves  of  immigration  :  first,  the  ante-bellum  immigrants, 
resident  thirty-five  years  or  more  ;  second,  the  refugees  of 
war  time  and  the  period  following,  resident  twenty-one  to 
thirty-four  years ;  third,  the  laborers  and  sightseers  of  the 
time  of  the  Centennial,  resident  ten  to  twenty  years; 
fourth,  the  recent  immigration,  which  may  be  divided  into 
those  resident  from  five  to  nine  years,  from  one  to  four 
years,  and  those  who  have  been  in  the  city  less  than  a 
year.  Of  5337  immigrants,*  the  following  classes  may  be 
made : 


Arrived  lince  De- 
cember 1. 

Resident. 

Number. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

1895 

1892 

1887 

1875 

1862   ..... 
Before  i860  ■   .   . 

Years. 
Under  i 

I  to  4 

5  to  9 

10  to  20 

21  to  34 

35  and  over. 

293 
1,242 

1.308 

M43 
1,040 

3" 

5.5 
23.2 

24.5 

21.4 

19.4 

6.0 

}      28.7 

}      45.9 
}      25.4 

53.2 

• 

4^8 

Before  1896 .   . 

5,337 

100 

100 

100 

Thus  we  see  that  the  majority  of  the  present  immigrants 
arrived  since  1887,  and  nearly  30  per  cent  since  1892. 
Carrying  out  the  division  by  age  periods,  we  have : 


*  In  the  case  of  lodgers  not  at  borne  and  sometimes  of  members  of 
fiunilies  answers  could  not  be  obtained  to  this  question.  There  were  in 
all  862  persons  bom  outside  the  city  from  whom  answers  were  not 
obtained. 


8o 


Sources  of  the  Negro  Population.    [Cbap.  VIL 


Aire. 

Years  Resident. 

0-9. 

xo-ao. 

2X-3P. 

31-40. 

Over  40. 

Un- 
known. 

Under  i  year  .... 

I  to  4  years    .... 

5  to  9  years    .... 
ID  to  20  years  .... 
21  to  34  years  .... 
35  years  and  over  .   . 

40 

77 

48 

0 

0 

0 

56 
181 

'39 

103 
0 

0 

"3 

648 

603 

343 

107 

0 

60 

239 
355 
449 
334 
17 

22 

94 

157 

238 

595 
294 

3 

i 

10 

4 
0 

Total 

165 

479 

1.814 

1,454 

1,400 

26 

This  table  simply  confirms  the  testimony  of  others  as  to 
the  recent  immigration  of  young  people.  Without  doubt 
these  statistics  of  immigration  considerably  understate  the 
truth ;  strong  social  considerations  lead  many  Negroes  to 
give  their  birthplace  as  Philadelphia  when,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  it  may  be  elsewhere.  We  may  then  safely  conclude 
that  less  than  a  third  of  the  Negroes  in  the  city  were  bom 
here,  and  of  the  others  less  than  a  quarter  have  been  resi- 
dent twenty  years  or  more.  So  that  half  the  Negro  popu- 
lation can  not  in  any  sense  be  said  to  be  a  product  of  the 
city,  but  rather  represents  raw  material,  whose  transforma- 
tion forms  a  pressing  series  of  social  problems.  Of  course, 
not  all  immigrants  are  undesirable  material,  nor  are  the 
native  Negroes  all  creditable  to  the  city  ;  on  the  contrary, 
many  of  the  best  specimens  of  Negroes  both  past  and 
present  were  not  bom  in  the  city,*  while  some  of  the  most 
bafiling  problems  arise  as  to  the  young  people  of  native 
families.  Nevertheless,  as  a  whole,  it  is  true  that  the 
average  of  culture  and  wealth  and  social  efficiency  is  far 
lower  among  immigrants  than  natives,  and  that  this  gives 
rise  to  the  gravest  of  the  Negro  problems. 

18.  The  City. — The  available  figures  for  the  past  are  not 
many  nor  altogether  reliable,  yet  it  seems  probable  that 
the  per  cent  of  immigrants  to-day  is  as  large  as  at  any 
previous  time  and  perhaps  larger.  In  1848,  57.3  per  cent 
of  15,532    Negroes   were   natives  of  the   State,  and  the 

*  Absalom  Jones,  Dorsey,  Minton,  Henry  Jones  and  Augustin  were 
none  of  them  natives  of  Philadelphia. 


Sect  i8.]  The  City.  8i 

remaining  42.7  per  cent  immigrants.  In  1890  we  have 
only  figures  for  the  whole  State,  which  show  that  45  per 
cent  of  the  Negroes  were  immigrants  mainly  from  Vir- 
ginia, Maryland,  Delaware,  New  Jersey,  North  Carolina, 
etc.*  For  Philadelphia  the  percentage  would  probably 
be  higher. 

The  new  immigrants  usually  settle  in  pretty  well-defined 
localities  in  or  near  the  slums,  and  thus  get  the  worst  pos- 
sible introduction  to  city  life.  In  1848,  five  thousand  of 
the  6600  immigrants  lived  in  the  narrow  and  filthy  alleys 
of  the  city  and  Moyamensing.  To-day  they  are  to  be 
found  partly  in  the  slums  and  partly  in  those  small  streets 
with  old  houses,  where  there  is  a  dangerous  intermingling 
of  good  and  bad  elements  fatal  to  growing  children  and 
unwholesome  for  adults.  Such  streets  may  be  found  in  the 
Seventh  Ward,  between  Tenth  and  Juniper  streets,  in  parts 
of  the  Third  and  Fourth  Wards  and  in  the  Fourteenth  and 
Fifteenth  Wards.  This  mingling  swells  the  apparent  size 
of  many  slum  districts,  and  at  the  same  time  screens  the 
real  criminals.  Investigators  are  often  surprised  in  the 
worst  districts  to  see  red-handed  criminals  and  good-hearted, 
hard-working,  honest  people  living  side  by  side  in  apparent 
harmony.  Even  when  the  new  immigrants  seek  better 
districts,  their  low  standard  of  living  and  careless  appear- 
ance make  them  unwelcome  to  the  better  class  of  blacks  and 
to  the  great  mass  of  whites.     Thus  they  find  themselves 

'Chinese,  Japanese  and  Indians  are  included  in  these  tables.     The 
exact  figures  are: 

Negro  population  of  Pennsylvania 107,626 

Of  these,  bom  in  Pennsylvania 58,681 

Virginia 19,873 

Maryland 12,202 

Delaware 4,851 

New  Jersey  . 1,786 

New  York 891 

North  Carolina 1,362 

District  Columbia 1,131 

Unknown 1,804 

6 


82  Sources  of  the  Negro  Population.    [Chap.  VII. 

hemmed  in  between  the  slums  and  the  decent  sections, 
and  they  easily  drift  into  the  happy-go-lucky  life  of 
the  lowest  classes  and  rear  young  criminals  for  our  jails. 
On  the  whole,  then,  the  sociological  effect  of  the  immigra- 
tion of  Negroes  is  the  same  as  that  of  illiterate  foreigners 
to  this  country,  save  that  in  this  case  the  brunt  of  the 
burden  of  illiteracy,  laziness  and  inefficiency  has  been,  by 
reason  of  peculiar  social  conditions,  put  largely  upon  the 
shoulders  of  a  group  which  is  least  prepared  to  bear  it. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

EDUCATION   AND   ILLITERACY. 

19.  The  History  of  Negro  Education. — Anthony 
Benezet  and  the  Friends  of  Philadelphia  have  the  honor 
of  first  recognizing  the  fact  that  the  welfare  of  the  State 
demands  the  education  of  Negro  children.  On  the 
twenty-sixth  of  January,  1770,  at  the  Philadelphia  Monthly 
Meeting  of  Friends,  the  general  situation  of  the  Negroes, 
and  especially  the  free  Negroes,  was  discussed.  On  motion 
of  one,  probably  Benezet,  it  was  decided  that  instruction 
ought  to  be  provided  for  Negro  children.*  A  committee 
was  appointed,  and  on  February  30  this  committee  pro- 
posed "  that  a  committee  of  seven  Friends  be  nominated 
by  the  Monthly  Meeting,  who  shall  be  authorized  to 
employ  a  schoolmistress  of  prudent  and  exemplary  con- 
duct, to  teach  not  more  at  one  time  than  thirty  children  in 
the  first  rudiments  of  school  learning,  and  in  sewing  and 
knitting.  That  the  admission  of  scholars  into  the  said 
school  be  entrusted  to  the  said  committee,  giving  to  the 
children  of  free  Negroes  and  Mulattoes  the  preference,  and 
the  opportunity  of  being  taught  clear  of  expense  to  their 
parents."  A  subscription  of  ;^ioo  (about  $266.67)  was 
recommended  for  this  purpose.  This  report  was  adopted, 
and  the  school  opened  June  28,  1770,  with  twenty-two 
colored  children  in  attendance.  In  September  the  pupils 
had  increased  to  thirty-six,  and  a  teacher  in  sewing  and 
knitting  was  employed.  Afterward  those  who  could,  were 
required  to  pay  a  sum,  varying  from  seven  shillings  six- 
pence to  ten  shillings  per  quarter,  for  tuition.  The  following 


^This  acconntis  mainly  from  the  pamphlet:  ''A  Brief  Sketch  of  the 
Schools  for  Black  People,"  etc.     Philadelphia,  1867. 

(83) 


84  Education  and  Illiteracy.        [Chap.  VIII. 

year  a  school-house  was  built  on  Walnut  street,  below 
Fourth — a  one-story  brick  building,  32  by  18  feet. 

From  1770  to  1775  two  hundred  and  fifty  children  and 
grown  persons  were  instructed.  Interest,  however,  began 
to  wane,  possibly  under  the  war-cloud,  and  in  1775  but 
five  Negro  children  were  in  attendance  and  some  white 
children  were  admitted.  Soon,  however,  the  parents  were 
aroused,  and  we  find  forty  Negroes  and  six  whites  attend- 
ing. 

After  the  war  Benezet  took  charge  of  the  school  and 
held  it  in  his  house  at  Third  and  Chestnut.  At  his  death, 
in  1784,  he  left  a  part  of  his  estate  to  "  hire  and  employ  a 
religious-minded  person  or  persons  to  teach  a  number  of 
Negro,  Mulatto  or  Indian  children,  to  read,  write,  arithme- 
tic, plain  accounts,  needle-work,  etc."  Other  bequests 
were  received,  including  one  from  a  Negro,  Thomas  Shir- 
ley, and  from  this  fund  the  schools,  afterward  known  as  the 
Raspberry  street  schools,  were  conducted  for  many  years, 
and  a  small  school  is  still  maintained.  In  the  early  part 
of  the  century  sixty  to  eighty  scholars  attended  the  school, 
and  a  night  school  was  opened.  In  1844  a  lot  on  Raspberry 
street  was  purchased,  and  a  school-house  erected.  Here, 
from  1844  to  1866,  eight  thousand  pupils  in  all  were 
instructed. 

Public  schools  for  Negroes  were  not  established  until 
about  1822,  when  the  Bird  school,  now  known  as  the 
James  Forten,  was  opened  on  Sixth  street,  above  Ivombard  ; 
in  1830  an  unclassified  school  in  West  Philadelphia  was 
begun,  and  in  1833  the  Coates  street  school,  now  known 
as  the  Vaux  school,  on  Coates  street  (now  called  Fairmount 
Avenue),  near  Fifth,  was  established.  Other  schools  were 
opened  at  Frankford  in  1839,  at  Paschalville  in  1841,  on 
Corn  street  in  1849,  and  at  Holmesburg  in  1854.  In 
1838  the  Negro  school  statistics  were  as  follows  : 


Sect  19.]         History  of  Negro  Education. 


85 


NSGRO  School  Statistics,  1838. 


Schools. 

Pupils 
Enrolled. 

Average 
Attendance. 

9  free  schools 

1,116 
226 

102 
288 

713 

125 

89 
260 

3  schools,  partly  free 

3  pay  schools,  white  teachers 

10  pay  schools,  colored  teachers 

25  schools 

1.732 

1,187 

Total  children  of  school  age 31O25. 


Ten  years  later  school  facilities  had  greatly  increased: 

NsGRo  School  Statistics,  1847. 


Schools. 

PupiU 
Bnrolled. 

Public  Grammar  School,  Lombard  street 

Abolition  Society  Infant  School,  Lombard  street 

Public  Primary  School.  Gaskill  street 

463 
70 

226 

Raspberry  Street  School 

155 

113 
166 

207 

32 
81 
12 

67 
296 

Public  Primary  School,  Brown  street 

Adelphi  School,  Wager  street 

Shiloh  Baptist  Church  Ini^nt  School,  Clifton  and  Cedar  Sts. 

Bedford  Street  School 

Moral  Reform  School 

Public  School,  Oak  street.  West  Philadelphia   ..... 

At  undesignated  public  schools 

At  twenty  private  schools 

Total 

1,888 

At  work  and  apprenticed 

504 
2,074 

At  home  and  unaccounted  for 

Total  Negro  children     .   .                     

4,466 

This  would  seem  to  indicate  a  smaller  percentage  of 
children  in  school  than  in  the  last  decade — a  natural  out- 
come of  the  period  of  depression  through  which  the 
Negroes  had  just  passed. 

In  1850  the  United  States  census  reported  3498  adults 
who  could  neither  read  nor  write,  among  the  Negroes  of 
the  city.  The  adult  population  at  that  time  must  have 
been  about  8000.  There  were  2176  children  in  school. 
In  1856  we  have  another  set  of  detailed  statistics : 


86 


Education  and  Illiteracy.        [Chap.  VIII. 


Schools. 


Public  schools 

Charity  schools 

Benevolent  and  reformatory  schools 
Private  schools 


Total 


Total 
Enrolment. 


Average 
Attendance. 


821 
491 


Children  from  8  to  18  not  in  school 1,620. 

The   schools  by  this  time   had   increased    in  number. 
There  were  the  following  public  schools  : 


Schools  and  Situations. 


Bird,  Sixth  above  Lombard  street,  Boys* 
Department,  Grammar  School         .    .   . 

Bird,  Sixth  above  Lombard  street.  Girls' 
Department,  Grammar  School      .... 

Bird,  Sixth  above  Lombard  street.  Primary 
Department 

Robert  Vaux,  Coates  street,  unclassified   . 

West  Philadelphia,  Oak  street,  unclassified 

Com  street,  unclassified 

Frankford,  unclassified 

Holmesburg,  unclassified 

Banneker,  Paschalville,  unclassified  .   .   . 


Total 


Number 

Enrol- 

Teachers. 

ment. 

4 

228 

4 

252 

3 

183 

2 

136 

2 

97 

I 

47 

I 

31 

I 

25 

I 

32 

19 

1,031 

Average 
Attendance 


208 

293 

150 
93 
78 
32 
25 
19 
15 


913 


The  public  schools  seemed  to  have  been  largely  manned 
by  colored  teachers,  and  were  for  a  long  time  less  efficient 
than  the  charity  schools.  The  grammar  schools  at  one  time, 
about  1844,  were  about  to  be  given  up,  but  were  saved, 
and  in  1856  were  doing  fairly  well.  The  charily  schools 
were  as  follows : 


Schools.                                       Teachers. 

1 

Enrol- 
ment. 

Av.  Attend- 
ance. 

Institute  for  Colored  Youth,  Lombard  St.  . 
Raspberry  St.  schools.  Boys'  Department 
Raspberry  St.  schools.  Girls*  Department 
Adelphi,  Wager  Street,  Girls*  Department 
Adelphi,  Wager  street,  Infants*  Department 

Sheppard,  Randolph  street 

School  at  the  House  of  Industry 

School  for  Destitute,  Lombard  street    .    . 
Infant  School,  South  and  Clifton  streets  . 

House  of  Refiige  School 

Orphans*  Shelter  School,  Thirteenth  street 
Home  for  Colored  Children,  Girard  avenue 

2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 

3 

I 

3 

3 

2 

I 

31 
90 

79 
70 

95 
60 

100 

73 
150 
119 

73 
19 

26 
64 

53 
42 
61 
40 

75 

45 

85 
III 

73 
19 

Total 

25 

959 

694 

Sect.  19.]         History  of  Negro  Education,  87 

Of  the  above  schools,  the  House  of  Refuge,  Orphans' 
Shelter,  House  of  Industry,  and  Home  for  Colored  Children 
were  schools  connected  with  benevolent  and  reformatory 
institutions.  The  Raspberry  school  was  that  founded  by 
Benezet  The  Institute  for  Colored  Youth  was  founded  by 
Richard  Humphreys,  a  West  Indian  ex-slaveholder,  who 
lived  in  Philadelphia.  On  his  death,  in  1832,  he  bequeathed 
the  sum  of  $10,000  to  the  Friends,  to  found  an  institution, 
"  having  for  its  object  the  benevolent  design  of  instructing 
the  descendants  of  the  African  race  in  school  learning,  in  the 
various  branches  of  the  mechanic  arts  and  trades,  and  in 
agriculture,  in  order  to  prepare,  fit  and  qualify  them  to  act 
as  teachers."  The  Institute  was  acccordingly  founded  in 
1837,  chartered  in  1842,  and  upon  receiving  further  gifts 
was  temporarily  located  on  Lombard  street.  In  1866 
additional  sums  were  raised,  and  the  Institute  located  on 
Bainbridge  street,  above  Ninth,  where  it  is  still  conducted. 

There  were  in  1856  the  following  private  schools  : 


Grade. 

Schools. 

Enrollment. 

For  hi^h  school  work 

I 

2 
10 

30 

30 

271 

For  firrammar  school  work 

For  common  branches 

Total 

13 

331 

There  were  also  two  night  schools,  with  an  attendance 
of  150  or  more. 

The  percentage  of  illiteracy  in  the  city  was  still  large. 
Bacon's  investigation  showed  that  of  9021  adults  over 
twenty  years  of  age,  45  J^  per  cent  were  wholly  illiterate, 
16^  per  cent  could  read  and  write  and  19  per  cent  could 
"read,  write  and  cipher.''  Detailed  statistics  for  each 
ward  are  given  in  the  next  table  : 


88 


Education  and  Illiteracy.       [Chap.  VIII. 


Il^UTSRACY  OP  PhII^ADBLPHIA  NBGROBS,    1854-6. 


Ward. 


I 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

^  ••••••• 

10 

II 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

Totol  .... 


Of  these 

Total 

there  can 

Read 

Adults  over 

Read, 

and 

Read. 

20  Years 

Write  and 

Write. 

of  Age. 

Cipher. 

223 

25 

23 

47 

349 

36 

54 

76 

275 

60 

48 

68 

1,427 

262 

199 

273 

i,8iS 

350 

285 

310 

151 

21 

25 

34 

1.867 

431 

337 

3" 

969 

204 

192 

199 

76 

20 

16 

19 

208 

40 

39 

42 

37 

2 

II 

5 

234 

53 

35 

42 

69 

15 

12 

15 

233 

34 

46 

66 

157 

20 

26 

29 

82 

17 

12 

13 

70 

13 

8 

II 

4 

I 

I 

0 

114 

6 

20 

18 

99 

22 

12 

15 

2 

0 

0 

I 

36 

7 

4 

7 

249 

30 

43 

48 

252 

41 

34 

37 

9,001 

1.710 

1,482 

1,686 

ToUUy 
niiteimte. 


128 

183 
99 

693 

873 
71 

788 

374 
21 

87 

19 

104 

27 

87 
82 

40 

38 

2 
70 

50 
I 

18 
128 
140 

4.123 


Separate  schools  for  black  and  white  were  maintained 
from  the  beginning,  barring  the  slight  mixing  in  the  early 
Quaker  schools.  Not  only  were  the  common  schools  sep- 
arate, but  there  were  no  public  high  schools  for  Negroes, 
professional  schools  were  closed  to  them,  and  within  the 
memory  of  living  men  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  not 
only  refused  to  admit  Negroes  as  students,  but  even  as 
listeners  in  the  lecture  halls.*  Not  until  1881  was  a  law 
passed  declaring  it  "  unlawful  for  any  school  director,  super- 
intendent or  teacher  to  make  any  distinction  whatever  on 
account  of,  or  by  reason  of,  the  race  or  color  of  any  pupil 
or  scholar  who  may  be  in  attendance  upon,  or  seeking 
admission  to,  any  public  or  common  school  maintained 


'  within  a  few  years  a  Negro  bad  to  fight  his  way  through  a  promi- 
nent dental  college  in  the  city. 


Sect.  20.]  The  Present  Condition.  89 

wholly  or  in  part  under  the  school  laws  of  this  common- 
wealth." This  enactment  was  for  some  time  evaded,  and 
even  now  some  discrimination  is  practiced  quietly  in  the 
matter  of  admission  and  transfers.  There  are  also  schools 
still  attended  solely  by  Negro  pupils  and  taught  by 
Negro  teachers,  although,  of  course,  the  children  are  at 
liberty  to  go  elsewhere  if  they  choose.  They  are  kept 
largely  through  a  feeling  of  loyalty  to  Negro  teachers. 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  several  Negroes  have  been  gradu- 
ated with  high  marks  at  the  Normal  School,  and  in  at 
least  one  case  "  passed  one  of  the  best  examinations  for  a 
supervising  principal's  certificate  that  has  been  accom- 
plished in  Philadelphia  by  any  teacher,"  ^  yet  no  Negro 
has  been  appointed  to  a  permanent  position  outside  the 
few  colored  schools. 

20.  The  Present  Condition. — There  were,  in  1896, 
5930  Negro  children  in  the  public  schools  of  the  city, 
against  6150  in  1895  and  6262  in  1897.  Confining  our- 
selves simply  to  the  Seventh  Ward,  we  find  the  total  popu- 
lation of  legal  school  age — six  to  thirteen  in  Pennsylvania — 
was  862  in  1896,  of  whom  740,  or  85.8  per  cent,  were 
reported  as  attending  school  at  some  time  during  the  year. 
Of  the  persons  five  to  twenty  years  of  age  about  48  per 
cent  were  in  school.  Statistics  by  age  and  sex  are  in  the 
next  table.*     (See  page  90.) 

Some  diflFerence  is  to  be  noted  between  the  sexes  :  Of 
the  children  six  to  thirteen  years  of  age,  85  per  cent  of  the 
boys  and  nearly  86  per  cent  of  the  girls  are  in  school ;  of 
the  youth  fourteen  to  twenty,  20  per  cent  of  the  boys  and 
21  per  cent  of  the  girls  are  in  school.  The  boys  stop 
school  pretty  suddenly  at  sixteen,  the  girls  at  seventeen. 


'  Philadelphia  Ledger^  August  13,  1897. 

*Thc  chief  error  in  the  school  returns  arises  from  irregularity  in 
attendance.  These  reported  in  school  were  there  sometime  during  the 
year,  and  possibly  off  and  on  during  the  whole  year,  but  many  were  not 
steady  attendants. 


90 


Education  and  Illiteracy.        [Chap.  VIII. 


Nearly  ii  per  cent  of  the  children  in  school  were  in 
attendance  less  than  the  full  term  ;*  of  these  attending  the 
whole  term  there  is  much  irregularity  through  absences 
and  tardiness.  On  the  whole,  therefore,  the  effective  school 
attendance  is  less  than  appears  at  first  sight. 


ScHooi;  Population  and  Attendance  (1896-97)  by 

Negroes  of  the  Seventh  Ward. 

Age. 

Males. 

Females. 

Age. 

School 
Population. 

School 
Attendance. 

School 
Population. 

66 

51 

School 
Attendance. 

Kindergarten  T  4  years  . 
age                1 5  years  . 

67 
46 

5 
II 

6 
19 

Total  of  Kindergarten  age 

"3 

16 

"7 

25 

Pennsylva- 
nia legal 
school  age. 

6  years  . 

7  years  . 

8  years  . 

9  years  . 

10  years  . 

11  years  . 

12  years  . 
,  13  years  . 

50 
48 

53 
54 
49 
39 
45 
53 

28 
40 
48 
50 
44 
38 

39 
46 

56 
59 
67 
51 
57 
58 
62 
61 

35 
45 
59 
50 
52 

55 
56 

55 

Total  of  legal  school  age 

391 

333 

471 

407 

Youth 

above  legal 

school  age,    - 

and  under 

voting  age. 

14  years  . 

15  years  . 

16  years  . 

17  years  . 

18  years  . 

19  years  . 
_  20  years  . 

45 
39 
53 
50 
55 
56 
67 

35 
22 

24 
6 

4 

2 

0 

52 
52 
71 

80 

91 
122 

36 
24 
31 
19 
4 
I 

2 

Total  youth    .   .  14-20 

065 

93 

555 

117 

Total  children  .    5-20 
(Usual  school  age.) 

802 

437 

1077 

543 

The  question  of  illiteracy  is  a  diflScult  one  to  have 
answered  without  actual  tests,  especially  when  the  people 
questioned  have  some  motives  for  appearing  less  ignorant 
than  they  actually  are.  The  figures  for  the  Seventh  Ward, 
therefore,  undoubtedly  understate  the  illiteracy  somewhat ; 
nevertheless  the  error  is  not  probably  large  enough  to 


*  Of  647  school  children  62  were  in  school  less  than  nine  months — some 
less  than  three.  Probably  many  more  than  this  did  not  attend  the  full 
term. 


Sect  20.] 


TTie  Present  Condition. 


91 


deprive  the  figures  of  considerable  value,  and  compared  with 
statistics  taken  in  a  similar  manner  they  are  probably  of 
average  reliability.*  Of  8464  Negroes  in  the  Seventh 
Ward  the  returns  show  that  12.17  per  cent  are  totally 
illiterate.     Comparing  this  with  previous  years  we  have : 


1850 
1856 
1870 


44     per  cent.       1890 18     per  cent. 

45>i       *«  1896  (7th  Ward)  12.17       *'        ▼ 

22 


41 


The  large  number  of  young  people  in  the  Seventh  Ward 
probably  brings  the  average  of  illiteracy  below  the  level 
of  the  whole  city.  Why  this  is  so  may  be  seen  if  we  take 
the  illiteracy  of  four  age-classes  : 


Age. 


Youth,  10  to  20  years  of  age 

Men  and  women,  21  to  30  years  of  age  . 
Men  and  women,  31  to  40  years  of  age  . 
Men  and  women,  over  40  years  of  age  . 


Read  and 

Write. 

Read. 

94% 

2% 

90 

6 

77 

6 

61 

10 

imterate. 

4 

17 
29 


The  same  difference  is  plain  if  we  take  the  returns  of  the 
census  of  1890  for  the  colored  population  of  the  whole  city : 


Age. 


10  to  19    . 
20  to  34    . 

35  to  44     . 
45  and  over 


Total  (including  those  of  unknown  age) 


Population  over  10 


Per  cent  of  total  illiteracy 


niiterate 
Males. 

Illiterate 
Females. 

138 

836 

1,098 

334 

216 
1,096 

1,571 
775 

2,450 

3,719 

Males. 
15,981 

Females. 
18,266 

15% 

21^ 

Total 
Illiterates. 


354 
1,932 
2,669 

1,109 

6,169 

Colored 
Persons. 

34,247 


18% 


"As  has  before  been  noted,  the  Negroes  are  less  apt  to  deceive  deliber- 
ately than  some  other  peoples.  The  ability  to  read,  however,  is  a  point 
of  pride  with  them,  and  especial  pains  was  taken  in  the  canvass  to  avoid 
error;  often  two  or  more  questions  on  the  point  were  asked.  Nevertheless 
all  depended  in  the  main  on  voluntary  answers. 

^  This  looks  small  and  yet  it  probably  approximates  the  truth.  My 
general  impression  from  talking  with  several  thousand  Negroes  in  the 
Seventh  Ward  is  that  the  percentage  of  total  illiteracy  is  small  among 
them. 


92  Education  and  Illiteracy.       [Chap.  VIII. 

Separating  those  in  the  Seventh  Ward  by  sex,  we  have 
this  table,  showing  a  total  illiteracy  of  lo  pier  cent  among 
the  males  and  17  per  cent  among  the  females : 

ILUTBXACY  BV  SOX  AMD  BY  AcK  PERIODS. — SSVBNTH  WAKD. 


U.1CC. 

Fcmal«. 

se.-Ae.i. 

1 

n 

■6 

I 

1 

Hi 

1 

{ 

j™ihj^«ta»r«r.^. 

w 

\H 

^^ 

n 

™ 

Til 

41 

g 

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l.»83 

S5 

3» 

(born  bclHECD   iBss 

TH4 

ft*? 

II4 

o'uDkaoirn  age  .  . 

s 

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J04 

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sss 

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3.93']  3.  ■S4_ 

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_A*» 

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--»'- 

-  m- 

-_yl 

Granting  that  those  reporting  themselves  as  able  to  read 
should  in  most  cases  be  included  under  the  illiterate,  and 
that  therefore  the  rate  of  illiteracy  in  the  Seventh  Ward  is 
about  18  per  cent,  and  perhaps  20  per  cent  for  the  city, 
nevertheless  the  rate  is,  all  things  considered,  low  and 
places  the  Philadelphia  Negroes  in  a  position  not  much 
worse  than  that  of  the  total  population  of  Belgium  (15.9 
per  cent),  so  far  as  actual  illiterates  are  concerned.* 


•The  Seventh  Special  Report  of  the  United  States  ConnniBSioner  of 
Labor  enables  ns  to  make  aome  comparison  of  the  illiteracy  of  the  foreign 
and  Negro  populations  of  the  City: 


Nationalilles. 

Pemnsableto 
R«d  and  Wrile. 

ntitetatea. 

'^°f^K^? 

Italiana,  i8m  ■   ■  .  ■ 
Russians.  iSm    .  .  . 

Pole*.  '8M 

Hungarians,  iSw     . 

irisl'.  :8M 

NegroeB,7thW..  le^ 
Gtrmani,  1894  ..  , 

1396 

1138 

S38 

541 
6893 

J6.37P.C. 
58.08     ■' 

69.-6    ■' 
Ss,»6    ■' 

814 

198 
78 

41.95    '■ 
30,84    •■ 
.8.56    |- 

r 

The  foreigners  here  reported  include  all  those  living  in  certain  parts  of 
the  Third  and  Fourth  Wards  of  Philadelphia.  Thej  are  largely  recent 
immigrants.    The  Russians  and  Poles  are  mostly  Jews. — Isabsl  Baton. 


Sect.  20.]  The  Present  Condition,  93 

The  degree  of  education  of  those  who  can  read  and  write 
can  only  be  indicated  in  general  terms.  The  majority 
have  only  a  partial  common  school  education  from  the 
country  schools  of  the  South  or  the  primary  grades  of  the 
city ;  a  considerable  number  have  taken  grammar  school 
work ;  a  very  few  have  entered  the  high  schools  and  there 
have  been  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  graduates  from  col- 
leges and  professional  schools  since  the  war.  Exact  figures 
as  to  the  proportion  of  students  taking  higher  courses  are 
not  easily  obtained. 

In  the  Catto  School,  1867-96,  11  per  cent  of  those  enter- 
ing the  primary  grade  were  promoted  to  the  grammar 
school ;  less  than  i  per  cent  of  those  entering  the  primary 
grade  of  the  Vaux  School  were  promoted  to  the  High 
School.  Of  those  graduating  from  the  course  at  the  Insti- 
tute for  Colored  Youth,  8  per  cent  have  taken  a  college  or 
professional  course.*  Thus  it  appears  that  of  1000  colored 
children  entering  the  primary  grade  no  go  to  the  gram- 
mar school,  ten  to  the  high  school  and  one  to  college  or 
to  a  professional  school.  The  basis  of  induction  here  is, 
however,  too  small  for  many  conclusions. ^° 

At  present  there  are  in  the  Seventh  Ward  thirteen  schools 
for  children  of  all  races  and  sixty-four  teachers,  with  school 
property  valued  at  $214,382.  The  schools  are  :  one  com- 
bined grammar  and  secondary,  three  secondary,  one  com- 
bined secondary  and  primary,  four  primary  and  four 
kindergartens. 

In  the  city  the  following  are  the  public  schools  chiefly 
attended  by  Negroes : 


*Data  famished  by  two  principals  of  colored  schools.  At  present 
(1897)  there  are  58  Negro  students  in  the  following  schools:  Central 
High,  Girls'  Normal,  Girls*  High,  Central  Manual  Training  and  North 
Bast  Manual  Training;  or  about  one  per  cent  of  the  total  school  enroll- 
ment. 

*®  Probably  the  percentage  of  children  promoted  from  primary  to 
grammar  grades  in  this  case  is  unusually  small. 


94 


Educalion  and  Illiteracy.        [Cliap.  VIII. 


Coulter  street.  Twenty-second  Section  .   .    45  bi 

J.  E.  Hill,  Germanlown 84 

Robert  Vaux,  Wood  street 67 

O.  V,  Catto,  Lombard  street 140 

WUmot,  Meadow  and  Cherry  atreeta  .  .  48 
James  Miller.  Forty-second  and  Ludlow  sts.,  24 
J.  S.  Ramsey,  Quince  and  Pine  streets  .    .  243 


39  girls,  all  colored. 


a53 


All  the  teachers  are  colored  except  those  in  the  Ramsey 

and  Miller  schools,  who  are  all  white.  There  are  a  few 
colored  kindergarten  teachers  in  various  sections,  and  large 
numbers  of  colored  children  go  to  other  schools  beside 
those  designated.  Many  of  the  colored  schools  have  a  high 
reputation  for  efficient  work."  There  is,  theoretically, 
no  discrimination  in  night  schools  and  some  Negroes 
go  to  white  schools ;  for  the  most  part,  however,  the 
Negroes  are  in  the  following  night  schools  : 

PHitADKLPHiA  Colored  Night  Schools,  1S95. 


N«ine  of  School, 

1 

i 

fi 

i 

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'1 

as 

i 

if 

it 
1 

f 

0.  V.  Clto 

fa 

17^ 

69 

e< 

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f 

^0 

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S 

test  Pbitadelphi. . 
Coulter  itreet    .  .  . 

s 

■& 

s 

;i 

» 

3. 

s 

K3S. 

617.  1...S6: 

US 

M 

"  The  following  report  from  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Schools  of 

the  City  Councils  is  taken  from  the  Philadelphia  l.edger,  December  3, 
1S96:  On  the  matter  of  the  needs  of  the  colored  population  in  connection 
with  the  Bchoola.  Mr.  Meehan  had  to  say;  "  Young  women  of  the  colored 
race  are  qualifying  themselves  for  public  school  teachers  by  taking  the 
regular  course  through  our  Normal  School,  No  matter  how  well 
qualified  they  may  be  to  teach,  directors  do  not  elect  them  to  positions  in 
the  schools.  It  is  taken  for  granted  that  only  white  teachers  shall  be 
placed  ill  charge  of  white  children.  The  colored  Normal  School  grad- 
uates might  be  given  a  chance  by  appointments  in  the  centre  of  some 
colored  population,  so  that  colored  people  might  support  their  own 
teachers  if  so  disposed,  as  they  support   their  own   ministers   in   their 


Sect  20.]  The  Present  Condition.  95 

The  Institute  for  Colored  Youth  is  still  a  popular  and 
useful  institution.  It  gives  grammar  and  high  school 
courses.  In  1890,  by  the  eflTorts  of  both  white  and  colored 
friends,"  an  industrial  department,  with  eleven  teachers, 
was  added.  Among  the  men  trained  here  are  Octavius  V. 
Catto,  Jacob  C.  White,  Jr.,  who  was  for  thirty-five  years 
principal  of  the  Vaux  School,  two  ex-ministers  from  the 
United  States  to  Haiti,  and  the  young  colored  physician 
who  recently  broke  twenty-five  years  record  in  the  excel- 
lence of  his  examination  before  the  State  Board.  Under 
Mr.  White,  mentioned  above,  Mr.  Henry  Tanner,  the  artist 
recently  honored  by  the  French  government,  was  graduated 
from  the  Vaux  School. 

Considering  this  testimony  as  a  whole,  it  seems  certain 
that  the  Negro  problem  in  Philadelphia  is  no  longer,  in  the 
main,  a  problem  of  sheer  ignorance ;  to  be  sure,  there  is 
still  a  very  large  totally  illiterate  class  of  perhaps  6000 
persons  over  ten  years  of  age ;  then,  too,  the  other  24,000 
are  not  in  any  sense  of  the  word  educated  as  a  mass  ;  most 
of  them  can  read  and  write  fairly  well,  but  few  have  a 
training  beyond  this.  The  leading  classes  among  them  are 
mostly  grammar  school  graduates,  and  a  college  bred  person 
is  very  exceptional.  Thus  the  problem  of  education  is 
still  large  and  pressing ;  and  yet  considering  their  ignorance 
in  the  light  of  history  and  present  experience,  it  must  be 
acknowledged  that  there  are  other  social  problems  con- 
nected with  this  people  more  pressing  than  that  of  educa- 
tion ;  that  a  fair  degree  of  persistence  in  present  methods 
will  settle  in  time  the  question  of  ignorance,  but  other 
social  questions  are  by  no  means  so  near  solution. 

The  only  difl&culties  in  the  matter  of  education  are  care- 
lessness in  school  attendance,  and  poverty  which  keeps 

separate  colored  churches.    The  good  result  of  this   arrangement  is 
shown  by  the  experience  in  the  Twenty-second  Section,  where  there  are 
two  schools  with  seven    colored  teachers,  ranking  among  the  most 
popular  in  the  section." 
^  Negroes  in  the  city  raised  |2ooo  toward  this. 


96  Education  and  Illiteracy.        [Chap,  VIII. 

children  out  of  school.  The  former  is  a  matter  for  the 
colored  people  to  settle  themselves,  and  is  one  to  which 
their  attention  needs  to  be  called.  While  much  has  been 
done,  yet  it  cannot  be  said  that  Negroes  have  fully  grasped 
their  great  school  advantages  in  the  city  by  keeping  their 
younger  children  regularly  in  school,  and  from  this  remiss- 
ness much  harm  has  sprung. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  OCCUPATIONS  OF  NEGROES. 

21,  The  Question  of  Earning  a  Living. — For  a  group 
of  freedmen  the  question  of  economic  survival  is  the  most 
pressing  of  all  questions ;  the  problem  as  to  how,  under 
the  circumstances  of  modem  life,  any  group  of  people  can 
earn  a  decent  living,  so  as  to  maintain  their  standard  of 
life,  is  not  always  easy  to  answer.  But  when  the  question 
is  complicated  by  the  fact  that  the  group  has  a  low  degree 
of  eflSiciency  on  account  of  previous  training ;  is  in  com- 
petition with  well-trained,  eager  and  often  ruthless  com- 
petitors ;  is  more  or  less  handicapped  by  a  somewhat 
indefinite  but  existent  and  wide  reaching  discrimination  ; 
and,  finally,  is  seeking  not  merely  to  maintain  a  standard 
of  livipg  but  steadily  to  raise  it  to  a  higher  plane — ^such  a 
situation  presents  baffling  problems  to  the  sociologist  and 
philanthropist 

And  yet  this  is  the  situation  of  the  Negro  in  Philadel- 
phia ;  he  is  trying  to  better  his  condition ;  is  seeking  to 
rise ;  for  this  end  his  first  need  is  work  of  a  character  to 
engage  his  best  talents,  and  remunerative  enough  for  him 
to  support  a  home  and  train  up  his  children  well.  The 
competition  in  a  large  city  is  fierce,  and  it  is  difficult  for 
any  poor  people  to  succeed.  The  Negro,  however,  has  two 
especial  difficulties  :  his  training  as  a  slave  and  freedman 
has  not  been  such  as  make  the  average  of  the  race  as 
efficient  and  reliable  workmen  as  the  average  native  Amer- 
ican or  as  many  foreign  immigrants.  >  The  Negro  is,  as  a 
rule,  willing,  honest  and  good-natured  ;  but  he  is  also,  as 
a  rule,  careless,  unreliable  and  unsteady.  This  is  without 
doubt  to  be  expected  in  a  people  who  for  generations  have 

7  (97) 


98  The  Occupations  of  Negroes,       [Chap.  IX. 

been  trained  to  shirk  work  ;  but  an  historical  excuse 
counts  for  little  in  the  whirl  and  battle  of  bread-winning. 
Of  course,  there  are  large  exceptions  to  this  average  rule ; 
there  are  many  Negroes  who  are  as  bright,  talented  and 
reliable  as  any  class  of  workmen,  and  who  in  untrammeled 
competition  would  soon  rise  high  in  the  economic  scale, 
and  thus  by  the  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest  we  should 
soon  have  left  at  the  bottom  those  inefficient  and  lazy 
drones  who  did  not  deserve  a  better  fate.  However,  in  the 
realm  of  social  phenomena  the  law  of  survival  is  greatly 
modified  by  human  choice,  wish,  whim  and  prejudice. 
And  consequently  one  never  knows  when  one  sees  a  social 
outcast  how  far  thi3  failure  to  survive  is  due  to  the  defi- 
ciencies of  the  individual,  and  how  far  to  the  accidents  or 
injustice  of  his  environment.  This  is  especially  the  case 
with  the  Negro.  Every  one  knows  that  in  a  city  like 
Philadelphia  a  Negro  does  not  have  the  same  chance  to 
exercise  his  ability  or  secure  work  according  to  his  talents 
as  a  white  man.  Just  how  far  this  is  so  we  shall  discuss 
later ;  now  it  is  sufficient  to  say  in  general  that  the  sorts 
of  work  open  to  Negroes  are  not  only  restricted  by  their 
own  lack  of  training  but  also  by  discrimination  against 
them  on  account  of  their  race  ;  that  their  economic  rise  is 
not  only  hindered  by  their  present  poverty,  but  also  by  a 
widespread  inclination  to  shut  against  them  many  doors  of 
advancement  open  to  the  talented  and  effitient  of  other 
races. 

What  has  thus  far  been  the  result  of  this  complicated 
situation  ?  What  do  the  mass  of  the  Negroes  of  the  city 
at  present  do  for  a  living,  and  how  successful  are  they  in 
those  lines  ?  And  in  so  far  as  they  are  successful,  what 
have  they  accomplished,  and  where  they  are  inefficient  in 
their  present  sphere  of  work,  what  is  the  cause  and  rem- 
edy ?  These  are  the  questions  before  us,  and  we  proceed 
to  answer  the  first  in  this  chapter,  taking  the  occupations 
of  the  Negroes  of  the  Seventh  Ward  first,  then  of  the  city 


Sect  22.]     Occupations  in  the  Seventh  Ward.  99 

in  a  general  way,  and  finally  saying   a  word   as   to   the 
past 

22.  Occupations  in  the  Seventh  Ward. — Of  the  257 
hoys  between  the  ages  of  ten  and  twenty,  who  were  regu- 
larly at  work  in  1896,  39  per  cent  were  porters  and  errand 
boys ;  25.5  per  cent  were  servants ;  16  per  cent  were  common 
laborers,  and  19  per  cent  had  miscellaneous  employment. 
The  occupations  in  detail  are  as  follows  :  * 

Total  population,  males  10  to  20    .   .   .   .651 
Hngaged  in  gainful  occupations    ....  257 


4( 
It 


Porters  and  errand  boys 100  39.0  per  cent. 

Servants 66  25.5 

Common  laborers 40  16.0 

Teamsters 7 

Apprentices 6 

Bootblacks 6 

Drivers 5 

Newsboys 5 

Peddlers 4 

T3rpesetters 3 

Actors 2 

Bricklayers 2 

Hostlers 2 

Typewriters 2 

Barber,  bartender,  bookbinder,  factory 
hand,  rubber-worker,  sailor,  shoe- 
maker—-one  each 7 

—  51  19.5 

257  100     per  cent. 

^  The  returns  as  to  occupations  are  on  the  whole  reliable.  There  was 
in  the  first  place  little  room  for  deception,  since  the  occupations  of 
Negroes  are  so  limited  that  a  false  or  indefinite  answer  was  easily 
revealed  by  a  little  judicious  probing;  moreover  there  was  little  disposi- 
tion to  deceive,  for  the  Negroes  are  very  anxious  to  have  their  limited 
opportunities  for  employment  known;  thus  the  motives  of  pride  and 
complaint  balanced  each  other  fairly  well.  Some  error  of  course 
remains:  the  number  of  servants  and  day-workers  is  slightly  under- 
stated; the  number  of  caterers  and  men  with  trades  is  somewhat 
exaggerated  by  the  answers  of  men  with  two  occupations:  ^.^.,  a  waiter 
with  a  small  side  business  of  catering  returns  himself  as  caterer;  a 
carpenter  who  gets  little  work  and  makes  his  living  largely  as  a  laborer 
is  sometimes  returned  as  a  carpenter,  etc.  In  the  main  the  errors  are 
small  and  of  little  consequence. 


lOO  The  Occupations  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  IX. 

Of  the  men  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  over,  there  were 
in  gainful  occupations,  the  following : 

In  the  learned  professions 6i  2.0  per  cent 

Conducting  business  on  their  own  ac- 
count     207  6.5        " 

In  the  skilled  trades 236  7.0        '* 

Clerks,  etc 159  5.0        " 

Laborers,  better  class 602 

Laborers,  common  class 852 

—  1454  45.0 

Servants 1079  34-o        ** 

Miscellaneous 11  .5        " 

3207  100  per  cent. 

Total  male  population,  21  and  over 3850.' 


'  A  more  detailed  list  of  the  occupations  of  male  Negroes,  twenty-one 
years  of  age  and  over,  living  in  the  Seventh  Ward  in  1896,  is  as  foUows: 


Entrepreneurs. 


Caterers 65 

Hucksters 37 

Proprietors  Hotels  and  Restau- 
rants      22 

Merchants:  Fuel  and  Notions  22 
Proprietors  of  Barber  Shops  .  .  15 
Expressmen  owning  outfit  .  .  14 
Merchants,  Cigar  Stores  ...  7 
Merchants,  Grocery  Stores  .  .  4 
Proprietors  of  Undertaking  Es- 
tablishments    2 


Employment  Agents  .   . 
Lodging  House  Keepers    . 
Proprietors  of  Pool  Rooms 
Real  Estate  Agencies  .   .   . 

Job  Printers 

Builder  and  Contractor  .   . 

Sub-landlord 

Milk  Dealer 

Publisher 


3 

3 

3 

3 

3 
I 

I 

z 

I 

207 


In  Learned  Professions, 


Clergymen 22 

Students 17 

Teachers 7 

Physicians 6 

Lawyers 5 

In  the  Skilled  Irades, 


Dentists 3 

Editors i 


61 


Barbers 64 

Cigar  Makers 39 

Shoemakers 18 

Stationary  Engineers 13 

Bricklayers 11 

Printers 10 


Apprentice     . 
Boilermaker  . 
Blacksmith 
China  Repairer 
Cooper    .   .   . 
Cabinetmaker 


Sect.  22.]     Occupations  in  the  Seventh  Ward. 


lOI 


This  shows  that  three-fourths  of  the  male  Negroes  ten 
years  of  age  and  over  in  gainful  occupations  are  laborers 
and  servants,  while  the  remaining  fourth  is  equally  divided 
into  three  parts  :  one  to  the  trades,  one  to  small  business 


Painters lo 

Upholsterers 7 

Carpenters 6 

Bakers 4 

Tailors 4 

Undertakers 4 

Brickmakers 3 

Pramemakers 3 

Plasterers 3 

Rubber  Workers 3 

Stone  Cntters 3 

Bookbinders 2 

Candy  Makers 2 

Chiropodists 2 

Ice  Carvers 2 

Photographers 2 

Clerks^  Semi-Professional  and  Responsible  Workers, 


Dyer 

Furniture  Polisher  . 
Gold  Beater  .... 
Kalsominer  .... 
Locksmith  .... 
Laundryman  (steam) 
Paper  Hanger  .   .   . 

Roofer 

Tinsmith 

Wicker  Worker    .   . 
Horse  Trainer  .   .   . 

Chemist 

Florist 

Pilot 


Policemen 

Sextons 

Shipping  Clerks  .  . 
Dancing  Masters  .  . 
Inspector  in  Factory 
Cashier 


Messengers 33 

Stewards 31 

Musicians 20 

Clerks 18 

Agents 15 

Clerks  in  Public  Service    ...  8 

Managers  and  Foremen  ....  6 

Actors 6 

Bartenders 5 

Servants, 

Domestics 582      Nurses 

Hotel  Help 457 

Public  Waiters 38 

Laborers  {Select  Class). 


236 

5 

4 

3 

3 
I 

I 
159 


1079 


Stevedores 164 

Teamsters 134 

Janitors 94 

Hod  Carriers 79 

Hostlers 44 

Elevator  Men 22 

Sailors 21 


China  Packers 14 

Watchmen 14 

Drivers 12 

Oyster  Openers 4 

602 


I02  The  Occupations  of  Negroes.        [Chap.  IX- 

enterprises,  and  one  to  professional  men,  clerks  and  miscel- 
laneous employments. 

Turning  now  to  the  females,  ten  to  twenty  years  of  age, 
we  have : 


Housewives 38  4.5   percent. 

At  work  • 289  36.5 

At  school 333  42.0 

At  home,  nnoccnpied,  etc 133  17.0 


c« 
II 


Total  female  population  10-20  .   .   .  793  100  per  cent. 

Of  the  289  at  work  there  were : 


In  domestic  service 211  73.0  per  cent 

Doing  day's  work 32  ii.o        " 

Dressmakers  and  seamstresses 16  5.5        " 

Servants  in  public  places 12  4.3        *' 

Apprentices 6 

Musicians 4 

Teachers 3 

Clerks 2 

Actresses 2 

Hairdressers i 

—    18  6.2 

289  100  per  cent. 

Taking  the  occupations  of  women  twenty-one  years  of 
age  and  over,  we  have : 

Domestic  servants 1262  37.0  per  cent. 

Housewives  and  day  laborers    ....  937  27.0 

Housewives 568  17.0 

Day  laborers,  maids,  etc 297             9.0^ 


II 
II 
It 


Laborers  (Ordinary), 

Common  Laborers 493      Casual  Laborers 12 

Porters 274  Miscellaneous  Laborers  ....      4 

Laborers  for  City 47  — 

Bootblacks 22  852 

Miscellaneous, 

Rag  Pickers 6      Prize  Fighter i 

"Politicians" 2  — 

Root  Doctors 2  11 

'This  includes  12  housewives  who  also  work. 


Sect  22.]     Occupations  in  the  Seventh  Ward.  103 

In  skilled  trades 221  6.0   per  cent. 

Conducting  businesses 63  2.0 

Clerks,  etc 40  i.o 

Learned  professions 37  i.o 


44 


3425           100  per  cent. 
Total  female  population  21  and  over 374o.  * 

Leaving  out  housewives  who  do  no  outside  work  and 
scheduling  all  women  over  twenty-one  who  have  gainful 
occupations,  we  have : 


*  A  more  detailed  list  of  the  occupations  of  female  Negroes,  twenty- one 
years  of  age  and  over,  living  in  the  Seventh  Ward  in  1896,  is  as  follows  : 

Entrepreneurs, 

Caterers 18      Undertakers 3 

Restaurant  Keepers 17  Child-Nursery  Keepers ....      3 

Merchants  ■ 17  — 

Employment  Agents 5  63 

Learned  Professions, 

Teachers 22      Students 7 

Trained  Nurses 8  — 

37 
Skilled  Trades, 

Dressmakers .........  204      Manicure i 

Hairdressers 6      Barber i 

Milliners 3      Typesetter i 

Shronders  of  Dead 4  — 

Apprentice i  221 

Clerks^  Semi-Professional  and  Responsible  Workers, 

Musicians 12      Matrons 2 

Clerks         10      Actress        i 

Stewardesses 4      Missionary i 

Housekeepers 4  — 

Agents 3  40 

Stenographers 3 

Laborers^  etc. 

Housewives  and  Day  Workers  .  937      Janitresses 22 

Day  Workers 128      Factory  Employe i 

Public  Cooks 72      Office  Maids 12 

Seamstresses 48  

Waitresses  in  Restaurants,  etc.    14  1234 

Servants, 

Domestic  Servants 1262 


The  Occupations  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  IX. 


37 


Frofeanona 

Working  on  own  account   , 

In  tradei     331 

Clerks  and  agents,  etc 40 

Daj  norkers,  jsnitresses,  seamstresses,  cooks,  etc.     ....  1134 
Servants Ii6a 

a8S7 

The  following  tables  gather  up  all  these  statistics  and 
give  full  returns  with  distinctions  of  age  and  sex  : 

OCCtffATIONS— FBMAI.BS,  TEN  YEARS  OF  AGE  AND  OvKR.     SKVKHTH  WAKD,  I896. 

I  ToUl. 


Days' norkeri  .  .  . 
Domenlc  Knice .  . 
Apprentice  to  tndc 
jBDltruan 


Dreuniakeia 

TMChtt« 

Clerks 

Rntaurant-kcepen  .  . 

Nunery  keepers  .  .   .  . 

Trained  nat^ 

Agenu  (beneficial  wc.) 
CiteresHS    ....... 

Sbroudera  of  desd  .  .  . 

Factory  employee  .    .  . 


Typeselte™ 

lfou«eli*epe 


Ssct  22.]      Occupations  in  the  Seventh  Ward. 


— • 

1 

2 

1 
> 

t 

t 
e 

1 

s 

1 

1 

= 
1 

1 

« 

^ 
fl 

'! 

^ 

^ 

35 

i 

3 

S5 

* 

67 
1 

f:i 

^bi!?""*  """**" 

ISi::;:::;:::::: 

Occupations— MAI33,  Twbnty-oi 
Sbvbmth  Wakd, 


K  YEAaS  AND  OVEK. 

[896. 


Oecupalloti 


&-S. 


Actore 

Agents  ^ina.  societies  and  dnimmera) 
Apprentice  to  trade 

Bartenden 


Bookbinders 

Bootblacks     .   .       

BricUajreTB 

Brickmakers 

Builder  and  contractor  .       .   . 

Bakers 

Boiler-maker 

Blacksmith  and  wheelwright  . 

Chiropodists 

China  repairer 

Compounder  of  liquors  .   .   .   . 

Cooper 

Carpenter  (ship) 

Carpenters 


Carpel 
Cashic 


ier  . 


The  Ocaipatioiuof  Negroe 
OCC0PATIOKS— Continued. 


[Chap.  IX. 


Chemist 

CiKar-makers 

Clerks 

Clerks  (in  public  serrice)      .   .    , 

Clerks  (shipping) 

Conductor  (railroad)* , 

Dairj^men , 

Dancing-tnasters 

Drivers  (for  doctor) 

Dyer 

Errand  boj9 

Engiiieera  (stalionary) 

Elevator  men 

Editor 

Florist 

PrBme-makers      

Fumilure  polisher 

Gold  bealer 

Gamblers 

Hucksters 

Hostlers , 

Hod  camera     ...       .... 

Inspector  of  furniture     .    .    .   .    , 

Ice  carvers 

Janitors 

Kalsominer 

Xiodging-house  keepers  .    .    .    .    . 

Landlord 

Locksmith 

Laborers  (casual) 

(aoapfactoryl 

(furnace-setters)  ,  .  , 
(on  buildings) .    .    .    .    . 

(brickyard) , 

(on  streets) 

(general) , 

{ water  works  and  gas,  el 

Laundrymen , 

Managers  and  foremen  .   ,    .    .    . 

Messengers .   . 

Musicians 

Manufacturers 

Nurses 

Oyster  openers 

Packers  (china) , 

Painters ,    .    , 

Pnper-hanger 

Porters 

*  iDternurrled  white  nun. 


Sect  22.]     Occupations  in  the  Seventh  Ward. 


107 


Occupations — Continued. 


Occupations. 


Politicians 

Photographers 

Plasterers 

Printers 

Proprietors — Hotels  and  restaurants  . 

Express  business    .   .   . 

Printing  office  .   . 

Ci^^  store 

Milk-dealing 

Store,  notions  and  fuel, 

Grocery 

Employment  agency  .   . 

Barber  shop 

Nevrspaper 

Pool-room 

Professions — Teachers 

Lawyers 

Clergjymen 

Physicians 

Dentists 

Policemen 

Pilot • 

Prize  fighter 

Rubber  workers 

Roofer     ....       

Ragpickers 

Real  estate  agents 

Root  doctors  

Service — Domestic 

Hotel  and  restaurants,  etc.  . 
Public  waiters  {with  caterers) 

Stewards 

Students 

Sailors 

Sextons 

Shoemakers 

Stevedores 

Stone-cutters 

Tinsmith 

Trainer  (horses) 

Tailors 

Teamsters       

Upholsterers 

Undertakers 

Watchmen 

Wicker- worker 


21-30 
Years. 


I 
I 


6 
6 

3 

3 
I 

I 

3 
I 

I 


I 

2 

4 

2 


2 
I 

2 


I 
288 
205 

9 

8 

13 

14 

I 

4 

64 

I 


I 

63 

2 

4 
I 


31-40 
Years. 


I 
I 

3 
I 

6 

4 
I 

6 

9 

I 

I 

5 
I 

2 

3 

2 

8 
I 
I 

5 


161 
126 

15 

14 

4 

3 
I 

I 

60 

I 

I 
I 

3 

38 
I 
I 

4 
I 


41  and 
over. 


2 
10 

7 


10 

2 

I 

10 

I 

3 
I 

10 

3 

2 

I 
I 

4 

2 

I 

123 

72 

13 
9 

•   « 

3 

2 

13 
40 

I 


32 

4 
I 

9 


Unk. 
Age. 


10 

II 

I 


ToUl. 


3 

9 
22 

14 

4 

7 
I 

22 

4 
3 

I 

3 

7 

5 
22 

6 

3 

5 
I 

I 

3 
I 

6 

3 

2 

582 
414 

38 

31 

17 
21 

4 

18 

164 

3 
I 

I 

4 

134 

7 
6 

14 
I 


Let  us  now  glance  at  the  occupations  as  a  whole  :  of  the 
9675  Negroes  in  the  Seventh  Ward,  12 12  are  children  nine 
years  of  age  or  less.     Of  the  remaining  8463  there  are  : 


loS  The  Occupations  of  Negroes.        [Chap.  IX. 

At  work 6,6io 

In  school 609 

Housewives 568 

Known  criminals 116 

Unoccupied,  at  home,  defective,  unknown,  etc 560 

8,463 


The  6610  at  work  are  distributed  as  follows : 

Professions loi 

Working  on  own  account 268 

In  trades 492 

Clerks,  semi-professional  and  responsible  workers  ....  216 

Laborers  (select) 778 

Laborers  (ordinary) 2,111 

Servants 2,644 

6,610 


We  can  grasp  the  true  meaning  of  these  figures  only  by 
comparing  the  distribution  of  occupations  among  the 
Negroes  with  that  of  the  total  population  of  the  city ;  for 
this  purpose  we  must  redistribute  the  occupations  accord- 
ing to  the  simpler,  but  in  many  respects  unsatisfactory, 
divisions  of  the  United  States  census.     We  then  have : 


Whole  Population 

of  PhUadelphia, 

1890. 

Negroes  of 
Seventh  Ward, 
1896. 

Number. 

Per 
Cent. 

Number. 

Per 
Cent. 

Total  population  over  10 

Numl]^r  in  gainful  occupations  .   .   . 
Per  cent  in  gainful  occupations  .   .    . 

847,283 
466,791 

55.1 

•    • 

8,463 
6,611 

78 

•  • 

•  • 

•  • 

Engaged  in  agriculture 

Engaged  in  professional  service  .   .   . 

Engaged  in  domestic  and   personal 

service 

6,497 
19,438 

106,129 
115,462 

219.265 

1.5 
4.2 

22.7 
24.7 

46.9 

II 
130* 

4,889 
1,006 

541 

.2 
2.0 

74.3 

'   15-3 
8.2 

Engaged  in  trade  and  transportation 
Engaged  in  manufacturing  and  me- 
chanical industries 

^Omitting  24  students  21  years  of  age  and  over. 


Sect  22.]    Occupations  in  the  Seventh  Ward. 


109 


Illustrated  graphically,  this  is : 


WHOLE  POPULATION 
OP  PHILA. 


NEGROES 
0F7TH.WARD 


domestic; 


PERSONAL  SERVICE 


TRADE  &T1 


SPO:?VA^ 


NANUFACTURinGft  MECNANl 


IDUSTRIES 


Comparing  the  whole  population  with  the  Negroes  of 
the  Seventh  Ward  by  sex,  we  have : 


L9 


39 


173 


47.4 


'TOTAL  MALES 
OP  ALL  COLORS. 


REl^c. 


MALE  NEGROES 
7T»?.  WARD 


ECHANICAL  INDUSTRIES 


(XZ% 


25% 


61.5% 


28% 


7.7' 


.1 


4.8 


37.9 


\\A 


4SS 


TOTAL    FEMALES 
OF  ALL  COLORS./ 


FEMALE  NEGROES' 
7T»«V/ARD, 


DOMESTIC 


traIde  i^Itransportation 

MANUI-ACI  UKIN(BmECHAN1CAL  INDUSTRIES 


L4% 


■-'.    H  L  \y  .  J  N  A  {     '.  E  R  V  1  C  r  88 


1.3% 


In  these  statistics  and  tables  we  have  first  to  notice  the 
large  proportion  of  these  people  who  work  for  a  living ; 
taking  the  population  ten  years  of  age  and  over,  and  we 
have  78  per  cent  for  the  Negroes  of  the  Seventh  Ward, 
and  55.1  per  cent  for  the  whole  city,  white  and  colored. 
This  is  an  indication  of  an  absence  of  accumulated  wealth. 


no 


The  Occupations  of  Negroes.        [Chap.  IX. 


arising  from  poverty  and  low  wages;  the  general  causes  of 
poverty  are  largely  historical  and  well  known ;  to  appre- 
ciate the  cause  of  low  wages,  we  have  only  to  see  the 
few  occupations  to  which  the  Negroes  are  practically 
limited,  and  imagine  the  competition  that  must  ensue. 
This  is  true  among  the  men,  and  especially  true  among 
the  women,  where  the  limitation  is  greatest.  All  the 
forces  that  are  impelling  white  women  to  become  bread- 
winners, are  emphasized  in  the  case  of  Negro  women :  their 
chances  of  marriage  are  decreased  by  the  low  wages  of  the 
men  and  the  large  excess  of  their  own  sex  in  the  great 
cities ;  they  must  work,  and  if  there  are  few  chances  open 
they  must  suflFer  from  competition  in  wages.  Among  the 
men  low  wages  means  either  enforced  celibacy  or  irregular 
and  often  dissipated  lives,  or  homes  where  the  wife  and 
mother  must  also  be  a  bread-winner.  Statistics  curiously 
illustrate  this  ;    16.3  per  cent  of  the  native  white  women 

Thk  Working  PopuItATion  of  Philadblphia,  1890. 


Color,  etc. 


Whites. 
(Native,  with  native 

parents) 

(Native,  with  foreign 

parents) 

Colored  (Negro  and 

Chinese,  etc.)  .   . 


Total  Population  . 


Number,  Ten  Years  of  K%t  and 
over,  in  Gainful  Occupations. 


Male. 


122,332 
91,280 
13.650 


Female. 


34,731 
39,618 

9,258 


344.143  '    122,648 


Total. 


157,063 

130,898 

22,908 


466,791 


Per  Cent  of  Total  Popu- 
lation in  Gainful 
Occupations. 


Male.  ;  Female 


65 
58 
72 


16 

24 
43 


ToUl. 


3B 
40 

57 


of  native  parents  and  of  all  ages,  in  Philadelphia  are  bread- 
winners ;  *  their  occupations  are  restricted,  and  there  is 
great   competition ;  yet  among  Negro  women,  where  the 


s  A  better  comparison  here  would  be  made  by  finding  the  percentages 
of  the  population  above  10  years  of  age ;  statistics  unfortunately  are  not 
available  for  this. 


Sect.  23.]  Occupations  in  the  City.  iii 

restriction  in  occupation  reaches  its  greatest  limit,  never- 
theless 43  per  cent  are  bread-winners,  and  their  wages  are 
at  the  lowest  point  in  all  cases  save  in  some  lines  of  domes- 
tic service  where  custom  holds  them  at  certain  figures ; 
even  here,  however,  the  tendency  is  downward. 

The  causes  of  this  peculiar  restriction  in  employment  of 
Negroes  are  twofold:  first,  the  lack  of  training  and 
experience  among  Negroes ;  second,  the  prejudice  of  the 
whites.  The  first  is  to  be  expected  in  some  degree,  although 
undoubtedly  carelessness  and  culpable  inefficiency  have 
played  their  part.  The  second  cause  will  be  discussed  at 
length,  later.  One  point,  however,  needs  mention :  the 
peculiar  distribution  of  employments  among  whites  and 
Negroes  makes  the  great  middle  class  of  white  people 
seldom,  if  ever,  brought  into  contact  with  Negroes — may 
not  this  be  a  cause  as  well  as  an  effect  of  prejudice  ? 

Another  noticeable  fact  is  the  absence  of  child-labor ; 
this  is  not  voluntary  on  the  part  of  the  Negroes,  but  due  to 
restricted  opportunity  ;  there  is  really  very  little  that  Negro 
children  may  do.  Their  chief  employment,  therefore,  is 
found  in  helping  about  the  house  while  the  mother  is  at 
work.  Thus  those  children  scheduled  as  at  home  repre- 
sent child-labor  in  many  cases. 

23.  Occupations  in  the  City. — Turning  from  the  more 
detailed  study  of  the  Seventh  Ward,  let  us  glance  in  a 
general  way  over  the  occupations  of  Negroes  in  the  city  at 
large. 

The  Professions. — ^The  learned  professions  are  represented 
among  Negroes  by  clergymen,  teachers,  physicians,  lawyers 
and  dentists,  in  the  order  named.  Practically  all  Negroes 
go  to  their  own  churches,  where  they  have,  save  in  a  very 
few  cases,  clergymen  of  their  own  race.  There  are  not  less 
than  sixty  Negro  ministers  in  the  city  (possibly  a  hundred) 
mostly  Methodists  and  Baptists,  with  three  or  four  Presby- 
terians and  two  Episcopalians.  The  Presbyterian  and 
Episcopalian  clergymen  are  well  trained  and  educated  men 


IM  The  Occupations  of  Negroes.        [Chap.  IX. 

in  nearly  every  case.  The  ministers  of  the  African  Metho- 
dists vary ;  those  in  charge  of  the  larger  churches  are  all  men 
of  striking  personality,  with  genius  for  leadership  and 
organization  in  some  lines,  and  in  some  cases,  though  not 
in  all,  they  are  well-educated  men.  Practically  none  of 
them  are  illiterate.  The  Baptist  ministers  are  not  on  the 
whole  so  well  trained  as  the  Methodists,  although  some 
are  well- educated. 

Taken  on  the  average  the  Negro  ministers  of  the  city  are 
good  representatives  of  the  masses  of  the  Negroes.  They 
are  largely  chosen  by  the  [masses,  must  cater  to  their 
tastes,  and  must  in  every  way  be  men  whom  the  rank  and 
file  of  the  race  like  and  understand.  Sometimes  a  strong 
personality,  like  the  late  Theodore  Miller,  will  take  a 
church  and  lift  it  to  a  high  level;  usually  the  minister 
rather  follows  than  leads,  and  indicates  public  opinion 
among  his  people  rather  than  forms  it.  The  Baptist  min- 
ister is  the  elected  chairman  of  a  pure  democracy,  who,  if 
he  can  command  a  large  enough  following,  becomes  a 
virtual  dictator;  he  thus  has  the  chance  to  be  a  wise  leader 
or  a  demagogue,  or,  as  in  many  cases,  a  little  of  both.  The 
Methodist  minister  is  the  appointed  steward  of  a  large  cor- 
poration, of  which  his  particular  church  is  a  small  part. 
His  success  depends  upon  the  way  in  which  he  conducts 
this  church  :  his  iinancial  success,  his  efforts  to  increase 
church  membership  and  his  personal  popularity.  The 
result  is  that  the  colored  Methodist  minister  is  generally  a 
wide-awake  business  man,  with  something  of  the  politician 
in  his  make-up,  who  is  sometimes  an  inspiring  and  valuable 
leader  of  men;  in  other  cases  he  may  develop  into  a  loud 
but  wily  talker,  who  induces  the  mass  of  Negroes  to  put 
into  fine  church  edifices  money  which  ought  to  go  to  charity 
or  business  enterprise. 

Ministers  receive  from  $250  a  year,  in  small  missions,  to 
$1500  in  three  or  four  of  the  largest  churches.  The  aver- 
age would  be  between  $600  and  $1000. 


Sect  23.] 


Occupations  in  the  City. 


"3 


Next  to  the  clergymen  come  the  teachers,  of  whom  there 
axe  about  forty  in  the  city : 


School. 


Institnte  for  Colored  Youth 

O.  V.  Catto 

Vanx 

J.  E.  Hill 

Coulter  street 

Wilmot 

Houae  of  Industry  .... 

James  Porten 

Berean  Church 


Total 


Princi- 
pals. 

AatisUnt 
Teachers 

Kinder- 
gartners. 

2 

0 
0 
0 

7 
6 

3 

3 

I 

I 

4 
0 

0 

0 

2 
0 
I 
0 
0 
0 
2 
I 

7 

25 

6 

Indus'l 
teachers. 


2 
O 

o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 
o 


These  teachers  are  in  nearly  every  case  well  equipped 
and  have  made  good  records.  Save  in  the  kindergartens, 
or  in  one  or  more  temporary  cases,  they  teach  Negro  chil- 
dren exclusively.  The  public  school  teachers  receive  the 
same  pay  as  the  white  teachers.* 

The  Negro  physician  is  to-day  just  beginning  to  reap  the 
reward  of  a  long  series  of  attempts  and  failures.  At  first 
thought  it  would  seem  natural  for  Negroes  to  patronize 
Negro  merchants,  lawyers  and  physicians,  from  a  sense  of 
pride  and  as  a  protest  against  race  feeling  among  whites. 
When,  however,  we  come  to  think  further,  we  can  see 
many  hindrances.  If  a  child  is  sick,  the  father  wants  a 
good  physician  ;  he  knows  plenty  of  good  white  physicians  ; 
he  knows  nothing  of  the  skill  of  the  black  doctor,  for  the 
black  doctor  has  had  no  opportunity  to  exercise  his  skill. 
Consequently  for  many  years  the  colored  physician  had 
to  sit  idly  by  and  see  the  40,000  Negroes  healed  principally 
by  white  practitioners.  To-day  this  has  largely  changed, 
and  principally  through  the  eflForts  of  the  younger  class  of 
doctors,  who  have  spared  no  pains  to  equip  themselves  at 
the  best  schools  of  the  country.  The  result  is  that  fully 
half  the  Negroes  employ  Negro  physicians,  and  to  a  small 
extent  these  physicians  practice  among  the  whites.     There 


*  Thk  hat  been  the  case  only  in  comparatiTelj  recent  times. 
8 


114  The  Occupations  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  IX. 

are  still  many  of  the  old  class  of  root  doctors  and  patent 
medicine  quacks  with  a  lucrative  trade  among  Negroes.^ 
Of  reputable  Negro  physicians  there  are  in  the  city  about 
fifteen,  graduated  as  follows : 

University  of  Pennsylvania 5 

Hahnemann  (Homeopathic) 2 

Women's  Medical 2 

Medico-Chirurgical .       .   .  i 

Harvard i 

University  of  Michigan i 

Howard 2 

14 

Seven  of  these  have  good-sized  practice,  running  from 
$1500  a  year  to  $3000  or  more.  Five  others  have  practi- 
cally just  commenced  to  get  practice  and  are  doing  fairly 
well.  The  other  two  have  outside  work  and  have  a  limited 
practice.  There  are  many  medical  students  in  the  city,  and 
this  field  is  the  most  attractive  open  to  the  Negro  among 
the  learned  professions. 

In  contrast  to  the  fair  success  of  the  Negro  in  medicine 
is  his  partial  failure  in  law.  There  are  at  present  about  ten 
practicing  Negro  lawyers  in  the  city,  graduated  as  follows  : 

Howard 3 

University  of  Pennsylvania 4 

Unknown 3 

Two  of  these  are  fairly  successful  practitioners — ^well 
versed  in  law,  with  some  experience,  and  a  small  but  steady 
practice.  Three  others  are  with  difficulty  earning  a  living 
at  criminal  practice  in  police  cases ;  and  the  rest  are 
having  little  or  no  practice.  This  failure  of  most  Negro 
lawyers  is  not  in  all  cases  due  to  lack  of  ability  and  push 
on  their  part  Its  principal  cause  is  that  the  Negroes  furnish 
little  lucrative  law  business,  and  a  Negro  lawyer  will  seldom 
be  employed  by  whites.  Moreover,  while  the  work  of  a 
physician  is  largely  private,  depending  on  individual  skill, 

'  Negroes  also  buy  immense  quantities  of  patent  medicines,  etc. 


Sect  23.]  Occupations  in  the  City.  115 

a  lai^ycr  niust  have  co-operation  from  fellow  lawyers  and 
respect  and  influence  in  court ;  thus  prejudice  or  discrimi- 
nation of  any  kind  is  especially  felt  in  this  profession.  For 
these  reasons  Negro  lawyers  are  for  the  most  part  confined 
to  petty  criminal  practice  and  seldom  get  a  chance  to  show 
their  ability. 

There  are  three  Negro  dentists,  two  being  graduated 
from  first-class  institutions  and  enjoying  good  practice. 

On  the  whole,  the  professional  class  of  Negroes  is  cred- 
itable to  the  race.  The  teachers  and  physicians  would  bear 
comparison  with  any  race  ;  the  ranks  of  the  clergy  are 
overcrowded  and  they  present  all  degrees,  from  excellent 
and  well-trained  spiritual  guides  to  blatant  demagogues ; 
the  lawyers  have  little  chance  to  show  themselves. 

The  Entrepreneur — ^The  number  of  individual  under- 
takers of  business  enterprise  among  Negroes  is  small  but 
growing.  Let  us  first  take  the  Seventh  Ward  alone  and 
glance  over  the  field.  There  are  in  this  ward  twenty-three 
establishments  for  meals  and  other  entertainment,  varying 
from  a  small  one-room  restaurant  to  a  twenty-room  hotel ; 
some  of  these  on  Lombard  and  South  streets  have  capacious 
dining-rooms  with  twenty  or  more  tables ;  some  are  little 
dark  places  with  two  or  three  dubious  looking  stands.  In 
length  of  establishment  they  vary  :  eight  had  in  1 896  been 
running  a  year  or  less ;  four,  two  years ;  two,  three  years  ; 
four,  from  four  to  eight  years.  They  represent  investments 
varying  from  $40  to  $1500,  and  employ  beside  the  pro- 
prietors between  fifty  and  one  hundred  persons  according 
to  the  season. 

There  are  in  the  Seventh  Ward  twenty-three  barber- 
shops varying  from  two  months  to  forty  years  in  length  of 
establishment ;  eight  are  from  three  to  five  years  old,  five 
over  ten  years  old.  They  employ  beside  the  proprietors 
from  twenty  to  forty  journeymen  more  or  less  regularly. 
A  shop  represents  an  investment  varying  from  $50  to  $250 
or  more.     The  Negro  as  a  barber  is  rapidly  losing  ground 


Xii^  The  Occupations  of  Negroes.        [Chap.  IX, 

in  the  city.  It  is  difficult  to  say  why  this  has  occurred,  but 
there  are  several  contributory  reasons  :  first  the  calling  was 
for  so  long  an  almost  exclusively  Negro  calling  that  it 
came  in  for  a  degree  of  the  contempt  and  ridicule  poured 
on  Negroes  in  general ;  it  therefore  grew  very  unpopular 
among  Negroes,  and  apprentices  became  very  scarce.  To- 
day one  would  have  to  look  a  long  time  among  young  and 
aspiring  Negroes  to  find  one  who  would  willingly  become 
a  barber — it  smacks  perhaps  a  little  too  much  of  domestic 
service,  and  is  a  thing  to  fall  back  upon  but  not  to  aspire 
to.  In  the  second  place  the  business  became  unpopular 
with  Negroes  because  it  compels  them  to  draw  a  color  line. 
No  first-class  Negro  barber  would  dare  shave  his  own 
brother  in  his  shop  in  Philadelphia  on  account  of  the  color 
prejudice.  This  is  peculiarly  galling  and  has  led  to  much 
criticism  and  unpopularity  for  certain  leading  barbers 
among  their  own  people.  These  two  reasons  led  to  a  lack 
of  interest  and  enterprise  in  the  business  for  a  long  time 
and  it  needed  but  one  movement  to  hasten  the  collapse, 
that  is,  competition.  The  competition  of  German  and 
ItaUan  barbers  furnished  the  last  and  most  potent  reason 
for  the  withdrawal  of  the  Negro;  they  were  skilled  work- 
men, while  skilled  Negro  barbers  were  becoming  scarce ; 
they  cut  down  the  customary  prices  and  some  of  them 
found  business  co-operation  and  encouragement  which 
Negroes  could  not  hope  for.  For  these  reasons  the  business 
is  slipping  from  the  Negro.  This  is  undoubtedly  a  calamity 
and  unless  the  Negro  in  spite  of  sentiment  awakens  in 
time  he  will  find  a  lucrative  employment  gone  and  nothing 
in  its  place.  Already  a  white  labor  union  movement  is 
beginning  to  crowd  the  Negro,  to  ask  for  legislation  which 
will  strike  him  most  forcibly  and  in  other  ways  to  bring 
organized  endeavor  to  bear  upon  disorganized  apathy. 

The  Seventh  Ward  has  thirteen  small  Negro  grocery 
stores.  They  are  mostly  new  ventures,  eight  being  less 
than  a  year  old  ;  four,  one  to  five  years  old,  and  one  fifteen 


Sect  23.]  OccupaHans  in  the  City.  ti*j 

years  old.  Two  are  co-operative  enterprises  but  have  had 
no  great  success.  All  of  these  stores  with  two  or  three 
exceptions  are  really  experiments  and  most  of  them  will 
soon  go  to  the  wall  and  their  places  be  taken  by  others. 
The  six  smaller  shops  represent  investments  of  $25  to 
$50 ;  two  have  $50  and  $100  invested  ;  three  between  $100 
and  $200,  and  one  from  $500  to  $1000.  The  ambition  of 
the  middle  class  of  Negroes  lies  in  this  direction  and  their 
endeavors  are  laudable.  In  another  age  of  industrial 
development  they  would  have  already  constituted  them- 
selves a  growing  class  of  small  tradesmen  ;  but  to-day  the 
department  store  and  stock-company  makes  the  competition 
too  great  for  people  with  so  little  commercial  training  and 
instinct  Nevertheless  the  number  of  Negro  groceries  will 
undoubtedly  grow  considerably  in  the  next  decade. 

Next  come  fourteen  cigar  stores  representing  a  total 
investment  of  $1000  to  $1500  mostly  in  sums  of  $25,  $50 
and  $100.  These  stores  have  been  established  as  follows  : 
one  year  or  less,  six ;  two  years,  four ;  three  to  sixteen  years, 
four.  They  sell  cigars  and  tobacco,  and  daily  papers;  some 
also  rent  bicycles,  or  have  a  boot-blacking  stand  or  pool 
room  attached.  One  of  the  proprietors  conducts,  beside  his 
cigar  store,  three  barber  shops  and  a  restaurant,  and 
employs  twenty  people.  Some  of  these  stores  are  finely 
equipped.  This  business  is  new  for  Negroes  and  growing ; 
a  few  women  have  ventured  into  it,  and  thus  in  some  cases 
it  furnishes  a  side  occupation  for  wives. 

There  are  four  candy  and  notion  shops  established 
respectively  five  months,  six  months,  one  year  and  three 
years,  and  each  representing  an  investment  of  $10  to  $100. 
They  are  in  most  cases  in  the  hands  of  women  and  do  a 
small  business.  There  are  also  numberless  places  for  selling 
fuel  of  all  kinds,  of  which  about  thirteen  rise  to  the  dignity 
of  shops.     They  represent  small  investments. 

Three  retail  liquor  shops  and  one  bottling  establishment 
are  conducted  by  colored  people,  representing  considerable 


r 


118  The  Occupations  of  Negroes.        [Chap.  IX. 

investments.  Two  of  the  saloons  are  old  and  well-con- 
ducted, and  financially  successful.  The  other  saloon  and 
the  bottling  establishment  are  not  very  successful. 

Four  large  employment  agencies  and  some  smaller  ones 
are  situated  in  the  ward.  They  conduct  lodging  houses 
and  in  some  cases  boarding  houses  in  connection.  One 
is  sixteen  years  old ;  all  hire  clerks.  Their  business 
is  to  act  as  agents  for  persons  desiring  servants,  and 
to  giiide  unemployed  persons  to  situations ;  for  this 
they  charge  a  percentage  or  fixed  sum  out  of  the  wages. 
They  also  often  serve  as  homes  for  unemployed  servants, 
giving  them  board  and  lodging,  sometimes  on  credit. 
Their  work  is  thus  useful  and  lucrative  when  properly 
conducted  as  in  two  or  three  establishments.  In  one 
or  two  others,  however,  there  is  some  suspicion  of  unfair 
dealing ;  servants  are  attracted  from  the  south  by  catchy 
advertisements  and  personal  letters,  only  to  find  themselves 
eventually  penniless  and  out  of  work  in  a  large  city.* 
Questionable  acquaintanceships  are  also  made  at  the 
agencies  at  times,  which  lead  to  ruin.  These  agencies 
need  strict  regulation, 

There  are  fourundertakingestablishments,  two  of  which 
are  conducted  by  women.  They  represent  investments  of 
$1000-$ 1 0,000  and  two  of  them  do  a  business  which  proba- 
bly aggregates  $8000  or  more  annually  in  each  case.  They 
are  all  old  establishments — six  to  thirty-three  years — and  in 
no  branch  of  business,  save  one,  has  the  Negro  evinced  so 
much  push,  taste  and  enterprise.  Two  of  the  establish- 
ments will,  in  equipment,  compare  favorably  with  the 
white  businesses  in  the  city  ;  indeed,  in  fair  competition 
they  have  gained  the  great  bulk  of  Negro  and  some  white 
patronage  from  white  competitors. 

Three  bakeries,  established  two  and  three  years  respect- 

'  In  Norfolk,  Va. ,  I  once  saw  the  advertisement  on  a  street  aign  calling 
for  colored   "clerks,    salesnomeD,    stenographers,"  etc.,  for  Northern 


Sect  23.]  Occupations  in  the  City.  119 

ively  are  having  moderate  success.  Six  printing  offices 
established,  one,  six  months,  the  others  four  to  seven  years, 
do  job  work  on  small  presses;  two  publish  weekly  papers. 
These  shops  are  fairly  successful  and  get  considerable  work 
from  the  colored  people.  One  dressmaker  has  a  shop  with 
$150  invested;  another  runs  a  dressmaking  school. 

Four  upholsterers  have  shops,  old  and  well  established, 
and  all  do  a  good  business ;  in  two  cases  the  business 
amounts  to  two  to  five  thousand  a  year.  One  sells 
antique  furniture  also. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  caterers  in  the  ward — eighty- 
three*  in  all.  Most  of  these,  however,  do  a  small  busi- 
ness, and  in  some  cases  have  other  work  also  for  at  least  a 
part  of  the  year.  Of  the  principal  caterers  there  are  about 
ten,  of  whom  the  doyen  was  the  late  Andrew  F.  Stevens.  ^® 
These  ten  caterers  do  a  large  business,  amounting  in  some 
cases  probably  to  $3000  to  $5000  a  year.  They  have  a  small 
co-operative  store  on  Thirteenth  street,  with  a  considerable 
stock  of  dishes,  and  such  things  as  olives,  pickles,  etc. 
This  is  conducted  by  a  manager  and  has  one  hundred  or 
more  members.  There  is  also  a  caterers'  association,  which 
is  really  a  trades-union.  Its  club  room  serves  as  a  clearing 
house  for  business  and  the  employment  of  waiters.  This 
has  been  running  ten  years.  The  catering  business  presents 
many  interesting  phases  to  the  economist  and  sociologist. 
Undoubtedly  the  pre-eminence  of  Negroes  in  this  business 
has  declined  since  the  Augustins,  Jones  and  Dorsey  passed. 
Negro  caterers  are  still  prominent,  but  they  do  not 
by  any  means  dominate  the  field,  as  then.  The  chief 
reason  for  this  is  the  change  that  has  come  over  American 


*  This  total  includes  a  large  number  of  men  and  women  who  do  some 
private  catering,  but  for  the  most  part  work  under  other  caterers;  strictly 
a  large  part  of  them  are  waiters  rather  than  caterers. 

^  Mr.  Stevens  died  in  1898 — he  was  an  honest,  reliable,  business  man — 
of  pleasant  address,  and  universally  respected.  He  was  easily  the 
successor  of  Dorsey,  Jones  and  Minton  in  the  catering  business. 


;ao  The  Ocaipations  of  Negroes.        [Chap.  IX. 

fashionable  society  in  the  last  twenty-five  years,  aud  the 
application  of  large  capital  to  the  catering  business. 
Philadelphia  society  is  no  longer  a  local  affair,  but  receives 
its  cue  as  to  propriety  and  fashion  from  New  York,  Lon- 
don and  Paris  ;  consequently  the  local  caterers  can  no 
longer  dictate  fashion  for  any  single  American  city  ;  more 
than  this,  demands  have  so  risen  with  increasing  wealth 
that  catering  establishments  like  Delmonico's,  which  would 
keep  in  the  front  rank,  represent  a  large  investment  of 
capital — investments  far  beyond  the  power  of  the  local 
Negro  caterers  of  Philadelphia.  Thus  we  find  a  large 
business  built  up  by  talent  and  tact,  meeting  with  changed 
social  conditions  ;  the  business  must  therefore  change  too. 
It  is  the  old  development  from  the  small  to  the  large 
industry,  from  the  house-industry  to  the  concentrated 
industry,  from  the  private  dining  room  to  the  palatial  hotel. 
If  the  Negro  caterers  of  Philadelphia  had  been  white, 
some  of  them  would  have  been  put  in  charge  of  a  large 
hotel,  or  would  have  become  co-partners  in  some  large 
restaurant  business,  for  which  capitalists  furnished  funds. 
For  such  business  co-operation,  however,  the  time  was  not 
ripe,  and  perhaps  only  a  few  of  the  best  Negro  caterers 
would  have  been  capable  of  entering  into  it  with  success. 
As  it  was,  the  change  in  fashion  and  mode  of  business 
changed  the  methods  of  the  Negro  caterers  and  their 
clientele.  They  began  to  serve  the  middle  class  instead 
of  the  rich  and  exclusive,  their  prices  had  to  become  more 
reasonable,  and  their  efforts  to  excel  had  consequently  fewer 
incentives.  Moreover,  they  now  carae  into  sharp  competi- 
tion with  a  class  of  small  white  caterers,  who,  if  they 
were  worse  cooks,  were  better  trained  in  the  tricks  of  the 
trade.  Then,  too,  with  this  new  and  large  clientele  that  per- 
sonal relationship  between  the  caterer  and  those  served  was 
broken  up,  and  a  larger  place  for  color  prejudice  was  made. 
It  is  thus  plain  that  a  curious  economic  revolution  in 
one  industry  has  gone  on  during  twenty-nine  years,  not 


Sect  23.]  Occupations  in  the  City.  lai 

unaccompanied  by  grave  social  problems.  In  this  case  the 
Negro  has  emerged  in  better  condition  and  has  shown  more 
capacity  for  hand  to  hand  economic  encounter  than,  for 
instance,  in  the  barbering  business.  Yet  he  has  not  emerged 
unscathed ;  in  every  such  battle,  when  a  Negro  is  fighting 
for  an  economic  advantage,  there  is  ever  a  widespread 
feeling  among  all  his  neighbors  that  it  is  inexpedient  to 
allow  this  class  to  became  wealthy  or  even  well-to-do. 
Consequently  the  battle  always  becomes  an  Athanasius 
contra  mundum^  where  almost  unconsciously  the  whole 
countenance  and  aid  of  the  community  is  thrown  against 
the  Negro. 

The  three  Negro  cemetery  companies  of  the  city  have 
their  headquarters  in  the  Seventh  Ward.  They  arose  from 
the  curious  prejudice  of  the  whites  against  allowing 
Negroes  to  be  buried  near  their  dead.  The  companies 
hold  valuable  property  and  are  fairly  well  conducted. " 
There  are  several  expressmen  in  the  ward  owning  their 
own  outfits ;  one  has  been  established  twenty-five  years  ; 
he  has  three  or  four  wagons  and  hires  four  or  five  men 
regularly.  There  was  in  1896  a  hardware  and  furniture 
business  forty-seven  years  old,  on  South  street,  but  the 
proprietor,   Robert  Adger,   has  since  died.  ^*     There  are 


'I  When  the  caterer  Henry  Jones  died  his  funeral  procession  was 
actnaUj  tamed  back  from  the  cemetery  by  the  refnsal  of  the  authorities 
of  Mt  Moriah  Cemetery  to  allow  him  interment  there;  he  had  before  his 
death  bought  and  paid  for  a  lot  in  the  cemetery  and  the  Supreme  Court 
eventually  confirmed  his  title.  To-day  this  absurd  prejudice  is  not  so 
strong  and  Negroes  own  lots  in  the  Episcopal  Cemetery  of  St.  James  the 
Less  and  in  perhaps  one  other. 

^'The  following  clipping  from  the  Philadelphia  Ledger^  Noyember^, 
1896,  illustrates  a  typical  life: 

"  Robert  Adger,  a  colored  Abolitionist,  died  on  Saturday,  at  his  home, 
835  South  street.  He  was  bom  a  slave,  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1813. 
His  mother,  who  was  bom  in  New  York,  went  to  South  Carolina  about 
1810,  with  some  of  her  relatives,  and  while  there  was  detained  as  a  slave. 

*'  When  his  master  died,  Mr.  Adger,  together  with  his  mother  and  olfa«> 
members  of  the  family,  were  sold  at  auction,  but,  through  the  sssistsncfe 


122 


The  Occupations  of  Negroes.        [Chap.  IX. 


several  bicycle  shops,  a  flourishing  milk,  butter  and  egg 
store,  a  china  repairing  shop,  of  long  standing;  a  hair  goods 
store,  a  rubber  goods  repairing  shop,  seventeen  years  old; 
a  second-hand  stove  store  and  two  patent  medicine  shops. 
To  test  the  accuracy  of  these  statistics  and  to  note 
changes,  a  second  visit  was  made  in  this  ward  in  1897,  with 
this  result : 

Nbgro  Businbss  £stabi,ishmbnts,  Sbvbnth  Ward,  1896-97. 


BiuineM. 


Restaurants  .   . 
Barbershops    .... 
Grocery  stores .  .  .   . 

Cigar  stores 

Cuidy  and  notions .  . 
Shoemaker  shops  .  . 
Upholsterers  .... 
Liquor  saloons  .  .  . 
Undertakers     .... 

Newspapers 

Drugstore 

Patent  medicine  stores 
Printing  offices    .   .  . 


Z896  (Dec.) 

X897  (Oct.) 

23 

39 

23 

24 

13 

II 

14 

II 

4 

2 

8 

13 

4 

4 

3 

2 

4 

4 

2 

I 

0 

I 

2 

a 

4 

4 

Such  small  businesses  represent  the  efforts  of  a  class  of 
poor  people  to  save  capital."  They  are  all  alike  hindered 
by  three  great  drawbacks:  First,  the  Negro  never  was 
trained  for  business  and  can  get  no  training  now ;  it  is  very 
seldom  that  a  Negro  boy  or  girl  can  on  any  terms  get  a 


of  friends,  legal  proceedings  were  instituted,  and  their  release  finaUy 
secured.  Mr.  Adger  then  came  to  this  city  about  1845,  and  secured  a 
position  as  a  waiter  in  the  old  Merchants'  Hotel.  Later  he  was  employed 
as  a  nurse,  and  while  working  in  that  capacity,  savedjenough  money  to 
start  in  the  furniture  business  on  South  street,  above  Eighth,  which  he 
continued  to  conduct  with  success  until  his  death.  Mr.  Adger  always 
took  an  active  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  people  of  his  race." 

^  One  enterprising  capitalist  hires  and  sub-rents  eight  different  houses 
with  furnished  apartments,  paying  I1944  annually  in  rent;  he  has  a 
bicycle  shop  which  brings  in  |iooo  a  year  for  an  expense  of  about  |l33a 
He  also  owns  a  barber  shop  which  brings  in  about  |iooo  a  year;  one-half 
the  gross  receipts  of  this  he  pays  to  a  foreman,  who  pays  his  journeymen 
barbers;  the  owner  pays  for  rent  and  material.  "  If  I  had  an  education,'* 
he  said,  "  I  could  get  on  better." 


Sect  23.]  Occupations  in  the  City.  123 

position  in  a  store  or  other  business  establishment  where 
he  can  learn  the  technique  of  the  work  or  general  business 
methods.  Second,  Negro  merchants  are  so  rare  that  it  is 
natural  for  customers,  both  white  and  colored,  to  take  it  for 
granted  that  their  business  is  poorly  conducted  without 
giving  it  a  trial.'*  Third,  the  Negroes  are  unused  to 
co-operation  with  their  own  people  and  the  process  of 
learning  it  is  long  and  tedious.  Hitherto,  their  economic 
activities  have  been  directed  almost  entirely  to  the  satis- 
faction of  wants  of  the  upper  classes  of  white  people,  and, 
too,  of  personal  and  household  wants ;  they  are  just  begin- 
ing  to  realize  that  within  their  own  group  there  is  a  vast 
field  for  development  in  economic  activity.  The  40,000 
Negroes  of  Philadelphia  need  food,  clothes,  shoes,  hats  and 
furniture;  these  by  proper  thrift  they  see  ought  to  be  in  part 
supplied  by  themselves,  and  the  little  business  ventures  we 
have  noticed  are  attempts  in  this  direction.  These 
attempts  would,  however,  be  vastly  more  successful  in 
another  economic  age.  To-day,  as  before  noted,  the  appli- 
cation of  large  capital  to  the  retail  business,  the  gathering 
of  workmen  into  factories,  the  wonderful  success  of  trained 
talent  in  catering  to  the  whims  and  taste  of  customers 
almost  precludes  the  effective  competition  of  the  small 
store.  Thus  the  economic  condition  of  the  day  militates 
largely  against  the  Negro  ;  it  requires  more  skill  and  ex- 
perience to  run  a  small  store  than  formerly  and  the  large 
store  and  factory  are  virtually  closed  to  him  on  any  terms. 
Turning  now  to  the  other  wards  of  the  city  let  us  notice 
some  of  the  chief  business  ventures  of  the  Negroes.  This 
list  is  by  no  means  exhaustive,  but  it  is  representative  : 


>*  Several  storekeepers  have  had  white  persons  enter  the  store,  look  at 
the  proprietors  and  say  "  Oh !  I— er— made  a  mistake,"  and  go  out. 


The  Occttpalions  of  N^roes.       [Chap.  IX. 


Thiid. 
Pomtli. 


Barber  shops       ... 

Second-hand  clothiDg 

Second-hand  furniture 

Coal  and  wood  shops 

Newspaper 

Restaurants 

Bail  goods  and  dreasmaklag 

Expressmen .... 

Decorating  and  paper-hanging  .... 

Job  printer 

Sboe  repair  shops 

Candy  store  (manufacture)    .    .       .    . 

Cigarstores 

Crockei7  store 

Second-hand  stores 

Barber  shops 

Pool-room 

Shoeblacking  shop 

Restaurants 

■Undertalter 

Fuel  and  notions    ,  .  , 

Cigar  store 

Pm)lisbtnK  house  (books  and  papers) 
Blacksmidi  and  wheelwright 

Florist 

Watch  repairer 

Newspaper  and  job  printing  ..... 

Undertaker 

Hotel  and  liquor  saloon 

Barber  shops 

Upholslerets 

Rag  warehouse 

Restaurants 

Fuel  and  newspaper  shop 

Grocery  store 

Cigar  stores 

Employment  bureau 

Hair.dresser  for  ladies      

Barber  

Grocery  store 

Upholsterer 

Dealer  in  niinerat  water 

Second-hand  furniture  store 

Fuel  and  candy  store 

Restaurants 

Tailor  shop 

Shoe-repatriug  shop  ....  ... 


Sect  ^53,] 


OwifPations  in  the  City. 


las 


Twenty- 
ith. 


Fifteenth 

and 

Twenty-ninth. 

Twenty-sixth 

and 

Thirtieth. 


Twenty-second. 


Real  estate  agent 

Meal  dealer  (wholesale) 

Carpet-cleaning  works 

Meat  and  provisions 

Barber  shops  and  various  small  establishments 

Second-hand  stoves 

Cigar  store 

Barbershops 

Hxpressman 

Second-hand  furniture .   . 

Upholsterer 

Grocery  store 

Milk  and  ice  shop 

Job  printing 

Restaurant 


No.Brtab- 
lishments. 


20 


Restaurant  and  lodging  house 

Grocery  stores 

Barbers 

Upholsterer 

Hxpressman    •  • 

Steam  laundry 


The  most  important  omissions  here  are  barber  shops,  on 
account  of  the  large  number,  caterers,  because  their  head- 
quarters are  mainly  in  private  houses,  and  many  small 
stores  which  are  easily  overlooked  and  which  quickly  come 
and  disappear.  Some  of  the  businesses  are  large  and  im- 
portant :  Three  or  four  caterers  do  a  business  of  several 
thousand  dollars  per  year ;  the  well-known  Chestnut  street 
florist  does  a  flourishing  and  well-conducted  business  ;" 
the  undertaker  in  the  Eighth  Ward  and  the  real  estate 
dealer  in  the  Twenty-seventh  are  unusually  successful  in 
their  lines.  The  crockery  store  in  the  Fourth  Ward  is 
neat  and  tasty.  The  three  largest  enterprises  are  the  pro- 
vision and  wholesale  meat  businesses  in  the  Fifteenth  Ward, 
and  the  carpet  cleaning  works.  It  is  reported  that  the 
business  of  each  of  these  approaches  $10,000  a  year. 

^  Here  was  a  case  where  some  persons  sought  to  drive  an  enterprising 
and  talented  Negro  out  of  business  simply  because  he  was  colored.  A 
Chestnut  street  property  owner  made  a  special  effort  to  give  him  a  start 
axid  now  he  conducts  a  business  of  which  no  merchant  need  be  aAiained. 


136  The  Ocaipalions  of  Negroes.        [Chap,  IX. 

There  are  five  weekly  newspapers  and  a  quarterly  maga- 
zine published  in  the  city  by  Negroes.  Two  of  the  papers 
are  denominational  organs  for  churches  ;  another  paper  is 
the  official  or°[aa  of  the  Odd  Fellows  ;  the  fourth  and  fifth 
are  local  news  sheets.  The  quarterly  is  published  by  the 
A.  M.  E.  Church.  These  papers  are  fairly  successful,  and 
are  considerably  read  and  reflect  the  general  pnblic  opinion 
pretty  well.  Most  of  them  have  been  verj'  weak  editorially, 
though  there  are  some  signs  of  improvement,  especially  in 
the  case  of  the  quarterly.  The  publishing  house  does  a 
business  of  $15,000  a  year, 

The  Trades. — The  practical  exclusion  of  the  Negro 
from  the  trades  and  industries  of  a  great  city  like  Phila- 
delphia is  a  situation  by  no  means  easy  to  explain.  It  is 
often  said  simply;  the  foreigners  and  trades  unions  have 
crowded  Negroes  out  on  account  of  race  prejudice  aud  left 
employers  and  phiiauthropists  helpless  in  the  matter.  This 
is  not  strictly  true.  What  the  trades  unions  and  white 
workmen  have  done  is  to  seize  an  economic  advantage 
plainly  offered  them.  This  opportunity  arose  from  three 
causes :  Here  was  a  mass  of  black  workmen  of  whom 
very  few  were  by  previous  training  fitted  to  become  the 
mechanics  aud  artisans  of  a  new  industrial  development ; 
here,  too,  were  an  increasing  mass  of  foreigners  aud  native 
Americans  who  were  unusually  well  fitted  to  take  part  in 
the  new  industries;  finally,  most  people  were  willing  and 
many  eager  that  Negroes  should  be  kept  as  menial  servants 
rather  than  develop  into  industrial  factors.  This  was 
the  situation,  and  here  was  the  opportunity  for  the  white 
workmen  ;  they  were  by  previous  training  better  workmen 
on  the  average  than  Negroes;  they  were  stronger  numer- 
ically and  the  result  was  that  every  new  industrial  enter- 
prise started  in  the  city  took  white  workmen.  Soon  the 
white  workmen  were  strong  enough  to  go  a  step  further 
than  this  aud  practically  prohibit  Negroes  from  entering 
trades  under  any  circumstances  ;  this  affected  not  only  new 


Sect  23.]  Occupations  in  the  City.  127 

enterprises,  but  also  old  trades  like  carpentering,  masonry, 
plastering  and  the  like.  The  supply  of  Negroes  for  such 
trades  could  not  keep  pace  with  the  e^rtraordinary  growth 
of  the  city  and  a  large  number  of  white  workmen  entered 
the  field.  They  immediately  combined  against  Negroes 
primarily  to  raise  wages ;  the  standard  of  living  of  the 
Negroes  lets  them  accept  low  wages,  and,  conversely,  long 
necessity  of  accepting  the  meagre  wages  offered  have  made 
a  low  standard  of  living.  Thus  partially  by  taking 
advantage  of  race  prejudice,  partially  by  greater  economic 
eflSciency  and  partially  by  the  endeavor  to  maintain  and 
raise  wages,  white  workmen  have  not  only  monopolized 
the  new  industrial  opportunities  of  an  age  which  has 
transformed  Philadelphia  from  a  colonial  town  to  a  world- 
city,  but  have  also  been  enabled  to  take  from  the  Negro 
workman  the  opportunities  he  already  enjoyed  in  certain 
lines  of  work. 

If  now  a  benevolent  despot  had  seen  the  development, 
he  would  immediately  have  sought  to  remedy  the  real 
weakness  of  the  Negro's  position,  i,  ^.,  his  lack  of  train- 
ing; and  he]  would  have  swept  away  any  discrimination 
that  compelled  men  to  support  as  criminals  those  who 
might  support  themselves  as  workmen. 

He  would  have  made  special  effort  to  train  Negro  boys 
for  industrial  life  and  given  them  a  chance  to  compete  on 
equal  terms  with  the  best  white  workmen ;  arguing  that 
in  the  long  run  this  would  be  best  for  all  concerned,  since 
by  raising  the  skill  and  standard  of  living  of  the  Negroes 
he  would  make  them  effective  workmen  and  competitors  who 
would  maintain  a  decent  level  of  wages.  He  would  have 
sternly  suppressed  organized  or  covert  opposition  to  Negro 
workmen. 

There  was,  however,  no  benevolent  despot,  no  philan- 
thropist, no  far-seeing  captain  of  industry  to  prevent  the 
Negro  from  losing  even  the  skill  he  had  learned  or  to  inspire 
him  by  opportunities  to  learn  more.    As  the  older  Negroes 


j^  The  Ocaipations  of  Negroes.         [Chap.  IX. 

with  trades  dropped  off,  there  was  Httle  to  induce  younger 
men  to  succeed  them.  On  the  contrary  special  effort  was 
made  not  to  train  Negroes  for  industry  or  to  allow  them  to 
enter  on  such  a  career.  Consequently  they  gradually  slipped 
out  of  industrial  life  until  in  iSgowhen  the  Negroes  formed 
4  per  cent  of  the  population,  only  i.i  per  cent  of  134,709 
men  in  the  principal  trades  of  the  city  were  Negroes ;  of 
46,200  women  in  these  trades  1.3  per  cent  were  Negroes; 
or  taking  men  and  women  together,  2160  or  1.19  per  cent 
of  all  were  Negroes.  This  does  not,  however,  tell  the 
whole  story,  for  of  this  2160,  the  barbers,  brickmakers, 
and  dressmakers  formed  1434.  In  the  Seventh  Ward  the 
number  in  the  trades  is  much  larger  than  the  proportion 
in  the  city,  but  here  again  they  are  confined  to  a  few 
trades — barbers,  dressmakers,  cigarmakers  and  shoemakers. 
How  now  has  this  exclusion  been  maintained?  In 
some  cases  by  the  actual  inclusion  of  the  word  "white" 
among  qualifications  for  entrance  into  certain  trade  unions. 
More  often,  however,  by  leaving  the  matter  of  color 
entirely  to  local  bodies,  who  make  no  general  rule,  but 
invariably  fail  to  admit  a  colored  applicant  except  under 
pressing  circumstances.  This  is  the  most  workable  system 
and  is  adopted  by  nearly  all  trade  unions.  In  sections 
where  Negro  labor  in  certain  trades  is  competent  and  con- 
siderable, the  trades  union  welcomes  them,  as  in  Western 
Pennsylvania  among  miners  aud  iron-workers,  and  in 
Philadelphia  among  cigarmakers  ;  but  whenever  there  is  a 
trade  where  good  Negro  workmen  are  comparatively 
scarce  each  union  steadfastly  refuses  to  admit  Negroes,  and 
relies  on  color  prejudice  to  keep  up  the  barrier.  Thus  the 
carpenters,  masons,  painters,  iron-workers,  etc.,  have  suc- 
ceeded in  keeping  out  nearly  all  Negro  workmen  by 
simply  declining  to  work  with  non-union  men  and  refusing 
to  let  colored  men  join  the  union.  Sometimes,  in  time 
of  strikes,  the  unions  are  compelled  in  self-defence  not 
only  to  allow  Negroes  to  join  but  to  solicit  them ;  this 


Sect  23.]  Occupations  in  the  City.  129 

happened,  for  instance,  in  the  stone-cutters'  strike  some 
years  ago. 

To  repeat,  then,  the  real  motives  back  of  this  exclusion 
are  plain :  a  large  part  is  simple  race  prejudice,  always 
strong  in  working  classes  and  intensified  by  the  peculiar 
history  of  the  Negro  in  this  country.  Another  part> 
however,  and  possibly  a  more  potent  part,  is  the  natural 
spirit  of  monopoly  and  the  desire  to  keep  up  wages.  So 
long  as  a  cr>'  against  "  Irish  "  or  "  foreigners  "  was  able  to 
marshal  race  prejudice  in  the  service  of  those  who  desired 
to  keep  those  people  out  of  some  employments,  that  cry 
was  sedulously  used.  So  to-day  the  workmen  plainly  see 
that  a  large  amount  of  competition  can  be  shut  off  by 
taking  advantage  of  public  opinion  and  drawing  the  color 
line.  Moreover,  in  this  there  is  one  thoroughly  justifiable 
consideration  that  plays  a  great  part :  namely,  the  Negroes 
arc  used  to  low  wages — can  live  on  them,  and  consequently 
would  fight  less  fiercely  than  most  whites  against  reduc- 
tion. 

The  employers  in  this  matter  are  not  altogether  blame- 
less. Their  objects  in  conducting  business  are  not,  of 
course,  wholly  philanthropic,  and  yet,  as  a  class,  they  rep- 
resent the  best  average  intelligence  and  morality  of  the 
community.  A  firm  stand  by  some  of  them  for  common 
human  right  might  save  the  city  something  in  taxes  for 
the  suppression  of  crime  and  vice.  There  came  some  time 
since  to  the  Midvale  Steel  Works  a  manager  whom  many 
dubbed  a  "  crank ;"  he  had  a  theory  that  Negroes  and 
whites  could  work  together  as  mechanics  without  friction 
or  trouble.^*  In  spite  of  some  protest  he  put  his  theory  into 
practice,  and  to-day  any  one  can  see  Negro  mechanics 
working  in  the  same  gangs  with  white  mechanics  with- 
out disturbance.      A  few  other  cases  on  a  smaller  scale 


"•  The  large  steel  manufactory  known  as  the  "Midyale  Steel  Works  " 
ifl located  at  Nicetown,  near  Germantown,  in  Philadelphia  County.   This 

9 


130  The  Ocaipations  of  Negroes.        [Chap.  IX. 

have  occurred  throughout  the  city.  In  general,  however, 
the  black  mechanic  who  seeks  work  frftm  a  mill  owner,  or 
a  contractor,  or  a  capitalist  is  told  :  "  I  have  no  feeling  in 
the  matter,  but  my  men  will  not  work  with  you,"  Without 
doubt,  in  many  cases,  the  employer  is  really  powerless ;  in 
many  other  cases  he  is  not  powerless,  but  is  willing  to 
appear  so. 

The  Negroes  of  the  city  who  have  trades  either  give 
them  up  and  hire  out  as  waiters  or  laborers,  or  they  become 
job  workmen  and  floating  hands,  catching  a  bit  of  carpen- 
tering here  or  a  little  brick-work  or  plastering  there  at 
reduced  wages.  Undoubtedl)'  much  blame  can  rightly  be 
laid  at  the  door  of  Negroes  for  submitting  rather  tamely  to 
this  organized  opposition.  If  they  would  meet  organization 
with  organization  and  excellence  of  work  by  excellence, 


establishment  was  visited  bj  tlie  writer,  anil  tbe  manager  of  the  fstab- 
lishment  interviewed  aa  to  tbe  success  of  tbe  experiment  made  by  him 
in  emplojing  Negroes  aa  workmen  along  with  whites. 

About  1100  men  are  employed  altogether,  aud  fully  200  of  these  are 
Negroes.  About  40  per  cent  of  tbe  wliole  number  of  employes  are 
American -bom,  but  generally  of  Irish,  English  or  German  parentage. 
The  remaining  43  per  cent  are  foreign-horn,  chiefly  English,  Irish  and 
German,  with  a  few  Swedes. 

'■  Our  object  in  putting  Negroes  on  the  force,'' said  the  manager, 
"  waa  twofold.  First,  we  believed  them  to  be  good  workmen  ;  secondly, 
we  thought  they  could  be  used  to  get  over  one  difficulty  we  bad  experi- 
enced at  Midvale,  namely,  the  clannish  spirit  of  the  workmen  and  a 
tendency  to  form  cliques.  In  steel  manufacture  much  of  the  work  U 
done  with  large  tools  run  by  gangs  of  men;  the  work  was  crippled  by 
the  different  foremen  trying  always  to  have  tbe  men  in  their  gang  all  of 
their  own  nationality.  The  English  foreman  of  a  hammer  gang,  for 
instance,  would  want  only  Englishmen,  and  the  Irish  Catholics  only 
Irishmen.  This  was  not  good  for  tbe  works,  nor  did  it  promote  friend- 
liness among  the  workmen.  So  we  began  briuging  in  Negroes  and 
placing  them  on  different  gangs,  and  at  the  same  time  we  distributed 
tbe  other  nationalities.  Now  onr  gangs  have,  say,  one  Negro,  one  or  two 
Americans,  an  Englishman,  etc.  Tbe  result  has  been  favorable  both  for 
tbe  men  and  for  the  works.  Things  rnu  smoothly,  and  the  output  is 
noticeably  greater." 

The  manager  was  especially  questioned  about  the  grade  of  work 
done  by  Negroes  and  their   efficiency   as   skilled   workmen.     He  said: 


Sect.  23.]  Occupations  in  the  City.  131 

they  could  do  much  to  win  standing  in  the  industries  of 
the  cities.  This  is  to-day  hard  to  begin,  but  it  is  worth 
the  trying,  and  the  Industrial  Department  of  the  Institute 
for  Colored  Youth,  which  the  Negroes  themselves  helped 
equip,  is  a  step  in  this  direction. 

Clerks^  Semi-professional  and  Responsible  Workers. — 
Under  this  head  has  been  grouped  a  miscellaneous  mass  of 
occupations  :  clerks  in  public  and  private  service,  stewards, 
messengers,  musicians,  agents,  managers  and  foremen, 
actors,  policemen,  etc.,  i  ^.,  that  class  of  persons  whose 
position  demands  a  degree  of  attainment  in  education, 
reliability,  talent  or  skill.  Here  the  number  of  Negroes 
is  small,  but  they  are  nearly  as  well  represented  as  in 
trades — ^an  indication  of  a  rather  abnormal  development. 
Of  46,393  men  in  this  class  of  occupations  in  the  city  (/,  ^., 
policemen,  watchmen,  agents,  commercial  travelers,  bankers 


"  They  do  aU  the  grades  of  work  done  by  the  white  workmen.  Some  of 
this  work  is  of  such  a  nature  that  it  had  been  supposed  that  only  very 
intelligent  English  and  American  workmen  could  be  trusted  with  it.  We 
have  100  colored  men  doing  that  skilled  work  now,  and  they  do  it  as  well 
as  any  of  the  others." 

As  to  wages,  the  manager  said  no  discrimination  was  made  between 
Negroes  and  whites.  They  start  as  laborers  at  f  1.20  a  day  and  **  we  try 
to  treat  them  as  individuals,  not  as  a  herd;  they  know  that  good  work 
gives  them  a  chance  for  better  work  and  better  pay.  Thus  their  ambition 
is  aroused  ;^esterday,  for  instance,  four  Negroes  saved  a  furnace  worth 
130,00a  The  furnace  was  full  of  molten  steel,  which  had  become 
clogged,  so  that  it  could  not  be  gotten  out  in  the  usual  way.  A  number 
of  powerful  men  were  required  to  open  the  side  of  the  furnace.  Pour 
colored  men  volunteered  and  saved  the  steel." 

With^regard  to  the  relations  between  white  and  black  workmen  the 
manager  said:  "We  have  had  no  trouble  at  aU.  The  unions  generaUy 
hold  potential  strikes  over  their  employers'  heads  to  keep  the  Negro  out 
of  employment.  There  has,  however,  been  no  strike  in  this  establish- 
ment for  seventeen  yeats,  and  Negroes  have  been  employed  for  the  last 
seven  years." 

Finally  the  manager  declared  that  according  to  his  belief  the  Negro 
workman  does  not  have  half  a  chance  to  show  his  ability.  **  He  does 
good  work  and  betters  his  condition  when  he  has  any  inducement  to  do 
so."  ISABBi,  Baton. 


132 


The  Occupations  of  Negroes.        [Chap.  IX. 


and  brokers,  bookkeepers,  clerks  and  salesmen,  and  bar- 
keepers) 327,  or  seven-tenths  of  i  per  cent  were  Negroes ; 
if  we  add  to  this  stewards,  messengers,  musicians,  and 
clerks  in  government  service,  they  form  about  i  per  cent  of 
those  in  the  city.  Nearly  all  the  clerks  and  salesmen  are  to 
be  found  in  Negro  stores,  although  there  are  a  few  excep- 
tions. 

CZ^BKKS,  SBBa-PROFSSSIONAI,  AND  RKSP0NSIBI,E  WORKBBS  IN 

Phii^dbi*phia,  1890. 


Occupation. 


Watchmen,  policemen  and  detectives 

Bartenders 

Agents  and  collectors 

Bankers,  brokers,  etc 

Bookkeepers,  clerks,  etc. 

Salesmen 


Total 


ToUl. 


46.393 


Negroes. 


4,113 

62 

1,683 

^l 

5,049 

^ 

2,072 

6 

23,057 

^^2 

10,419 

38 

326 


There  are  about  sixty  colored  policemen  on  the  force  at 
present,  and  the  general  impression  seems  to  be  that  they 
make  good  average  oflScers.  They  were  first  appointed  to 
the  police  force  by  Mayor  King  in  1884.  At  first  there 
was  violent  opposition,  which  would  have  been  listened  to 
had  it  not  been  for  political  complications.  The  Negro 
policemen  are  put  on  duty  mostly  in  or  near  the  chief 
Negro  settlements  and  no  one  of  them  has  yet  been  pro- 
moted from  the  ranks.  The  number  of  Negroes  in 
government  service  is  as  follows : 

Municipal  departments 11 

Custom  House i 

Post-office  .   •  •  ^ 17 

Navy  yard ^  .   .   .  I 

Beside  these  there  are  a  number  of  messengers  and 
ordinary  laborers.  In  many  cases  these  clerks  have  made 
very  excellent  records,  as  in  the  case  of  the  discount  clerk 
in  the  tax  oflSce,  who  has  held  his  position  for  many  years, 
and  is  perhaps  the  most  efficient  clerk  in  the  office ;  or 


Sect.  23.]  Occupations  in  the  City.  133 

again  the  Negro  postmaster  and  employes  in  the  post- 
office  at  Wanamaker's  store  who  have  been  unusually 
successful  in  administrating  the  second  largest  sub-station 
in  the  city.  In  a  few  cases  certain  Negroes  have  received 
office  through  political  influence  and  have  been  plainly 
unfitted  for  their  work. 

There  are  a  few  clerks  in  responsible  positions — one 
employed  by  the  Pennsylvania  railway  company,  another 
in  a  bank.     Such  cases,  however,  are  rare. 

Laborers. — ^The  great  mass  of  the  men  and  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  women  are  manual  laborers — i.  e. ,  teamsters, 
janitors,  stevedores,  hod-carriers,  hostlers,  [elevator-men, 
sailors,  china-packers  and  night-watchmen.  Their  wages 
are  usually : 

Teamsters f  i  to  I1.50  a  day. 

Janitors $30  to  $60  a  month. 

Stevedores 20c.  to  30c  an  hour  (irregular  employment). 

Hod-carriers  ....  I1.50  to  I2.50  a  day  (employed  according  to  season). 

Hostlers ^16  to  {30  a  month. 

Blevator-men    .   .   .  |i6  to  I25  a  month. 

Besides  these  there  are  the  ordinary  porters,  errand 
boys,  newsboys  and  day-laborers,  whose  earnings  vary 
considerably,  but  usually  are  too  small  to  support  a  family 
without  much  help  from  wife  and  children.  Stevedores, 
hod-carriers  and  I  day-laborers  are  especially  liable  to 
irregular  employment,  which  makes  life  hard  for  them 
sometimes.  The  mass  of  the  men  are,  save  in  the  lower 
grades,  given  average  wages  and  meet  their  greatest  diffi- 
culty in  securing  work.  The  competition  in  ordinary 
laboring  work  is  severe  in  so  crowded  a  city.  The  women 
day-laborers  are,  on  the  whole,  poorly  paid,  and  meet  fierce 
competition  in  laundry  work  and  cleaning. 

The  most  noticeable  thing  about  the  Negro  laborers  as 
a  whole  is  their  uneven  quality.  There  are  some  first- 
class,  capable  and  willing  workers,  who  have  held  their 
positions  for  years  and  give  perfect  satisfaction.     On  the 


134  '^f^  Occupations  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  IX. 

other  hand,  there  are  numbers  of  inefficient  and  unintelli- 
gent laborers  on  whom  employers  cannot  rely  and  who 
are  below  average  American  labor  in  ability.  This 
unevenness  arises  from  two  causes :  the  different  training 
of  the  various  groups  of  Negroes  composing  the  city 
population ;  some  are  the  descendants  of  generations  of 
free  Negroes ;  some  of  trained  house-servants,  long  in  close 
contact  with  their  masters'  families ;  others  are  the  sons 
of  field-hands,  untouched  and  untrained  by  contact  with 
civilized  institutions :  all  this  vast  difference  in  preparation 
shows  vast  differences  in  results.  The  second  reason  lies 
in  the  increased  competition  within  the  group,  and  the 
growing  lack  of  incentive  to  good  work,  owing  to  the 
difficulty  of  escaping  from  manual  toil  into  higher  and 
better  paid  callings ;  the  higher  classes  of  white  labor  are 
continually  being  incorporated  into  the  skilled  trades,  or 
clerical  workers,  or  other  higher  grades  of  labor.  Some- 
times this  happens  with  Negroes  but  not  often.  The  first- 
class  ditcher  can  seldom  become  foreman  of  a  gang ;  the 
hod-carrier  can  seldom  become  a  mason ;  the  porter 
cannot  have  much  hope  of  being  a  clerk,  or  the  elevator- 
boy  of  becoming  a  salesman.  Consequently  we  find  the 
ranks  of  the  laborers  among  Negroes  filled  to  an  unusual 
extent  with  disappointed  men,  with  men  who  have  lost  the 
incentive  to  excel,  and  have  become  chronic  grumblers 
and  complainers,  spreading  this  spirit  further  than  it  would 
naturally  go.  At  the  same  time  this  shutting  of  the 
natural  outlet  for  ability  means  an  increase  of  competition 
for  ordinary  work. 

Without  doubt  there  is  not  in  Philadelphia  enough  work 
of  the  kind  that  the  mass  of  Negroes  can  and  may  do,  to 
employ  at  fair  wages  the  laborers  who  at  present  desire 
work.  The  result  of  this  must,  of  course,  be  disastrous, 
and  give  rise  to  many  loafers,  criminals,  and  casual  labor- 
ers. The  situation  is  further  complicated  by  the  fact 
that  in  seasons  when  work  is  more  plentiful,  temporary 


Sect  23.]  Occupations  in  the  City.  135 

immigrations  from  the  South  swell  the  number  of  laborers 
abnormally ;  every  spring  the  tide  of  immigration  sets  in, 
consisting  of  brickmakers,  teamsters,  asphalt-workers, 
common  laborers,  etc.,  who  work  during  the  summer  in 
the  city  and  return  to  the  cheaper  living  of  Virginia  and 
Maryland  for  the  winter.  This  makes  the  competition  in 
summer  close  for  Philadelphians,  and  often  brings  actual 
distress  in  winter.  A  pressing  duty  is  to  see  that  the 
opportunities  for  work  in  the  city  are  not  misrepresented, 
and  to  relieve  congestion  in  some  avenues  by  opening 
others  to  Negro  labor.  Nor  would  this  be  a  boon  simply 
for  Negroes:  the  excessive  competition  of  Negroes  in 
certain  lines  of  work  makes  more  suflEering  for  their  white 
competitors  than  if  that  competition  were  less  intense  in 
places  and  spread  over  a  larger  area.  White  hod-carriers 
and  porters  suflFer  greatly  from  competition,  while  other 
branches  of  labor  are  artificially  protected — an  economic 
injustice  which  might  be  remedied. 

Another  custom  that  works  much  harm  to  all  classes 
and  colors  of  laborers  is  the  custom  of  working  exclusively 
white  or  exclusively  colored  gangs  of  workmen.  It  is  unjust 
to  the  Negro  because  it  virtually  closes  the  greater  part  of 
the  field  of  labor  against  him,  since  his  numbers  are  small 
compared  with  the  population  of  the  city,  and  it  is  harder 
for  him  to  gather  gangs  than  for  the  whites.  It  is,  how- 
ever, a  fruitful  cause  of  injustice  to  white  laborers ;  for  the 
contractor  who  gets  a  gang  of  Negroes  to  work,  has  a 
temptation  to  force  down  wages  which  he  seldom  resists  or 
cares  to  resist.  He  knows  that  the  standard  of  living  of 
the  Negroes  is  low,  and  their  chances  for  employment 
limited.  He  therefore  takes  on  a  gang  of  Negroes,  lowers 
wages,  and  then  if  whites  wish  to  regain  their  places,  they 
must  accept  the  lower  wages.  The  white  laborers  then 
blame  the  Negroes  for  bringing  down  wages — a  charge 
with  just  enough  truth  in  it  to  intensify  existing  preju- 
dices.    If  laborers  on  ordinary  jobs  were  hired  regardless 


136  The  Occupations  of  Negroes.        [Chap.  IX. 

of  color  and  according  to  eSiciency,  no  doubt  both  white 
and  black  labor  would  gain,  and  the  employer  would  not 
in  the  long  run  lose  much. 

Servants. — Probably  over  one-fourth  of  the  domestic 
servants  of  Philadelphia  are  Negroes,  and  conversely 
nearly  one-third  of  the  Negroes  in  the  city  are  servants. 
This  makes  the  Negro  a  central  problem  in  any  careful 
study  of  domestic  service,  and  domestic  ser\-ice  a  large 
part  of  the  Negro  problems.  The  matter  thus  is  so 
important  that  it  has  been  made  the  subject  of  a  special 
study  appended  to  this  work.  A  few  general  considera- 
tions only  will  be  advanced  here. 

So  long  as  entrance  into  domestic  service  involves  a  loss 
of  all  social  standing  and  consideration,  so  long  will  domes- 
tic service  be  a  social  problem.  The  problem  may  vary  iu 
character  with  different  countries  and  times,  but  there  will 
always  be  some  maladjustment  in  social  relations  when  any 
considerable  part  of  a  population  is  required  to  get  its  sup- 
port in  a  manner  whicli  the  other  part  despises,  or  affects 
to  despise.  In  the  United  States  the  problem  is  compli- 
cated by  the  fact  that  for  years  domestic  service  was  per- 
fonned  by  slaves,  and  afterward,  up  till  to-day,  largely  by 
black  freedmen — tlins  adding  a  despised  race  to  a  despised 
calling.  Even  when  white  servants  increased  in  number 
they  were  composed  of  white  foreigners,  with  but  a  small 
proportion  of  native  Americans.  Thus  by  long  experience 
the  United  States  has  come  to  associate  domestic  service 
with  some  inferiority  in  race  or  training. 

The  effect  of  this  attitude  on  the  character  of  the  service 
rendered,  and  the  relation  of  mistress  and  maid,  has  been 
only  too  evident,  and  has  in  late  years  engaged  the  atten- 
tion of  some  students  and  many  reformers.  These  have 
pointed  ont  how  necessary  and  worthy  a  work  the  domestic 
performs,  or  could  perform,  if  properly  trained  ;  that  the 
health,  happiness  and  efficiency  of  thousands  of  homes, 
which  are  training  the  future  leaders  of  the  republic,  depend 


Sect.  23.]  Occupations  in  the  City.  137 

largely  on  their^domestic  service.  This  is  true,  and  yet  the 
remedy  for  present  ills  is  not  clear  until  we  recognize  how 
far  removed  the  present  commercial  method  of  hiring  a  ser- 
vant in*market  is  from  that  which  obtained  at  the  time  when 
the  daughters  of  the  family,  or  of  the  neighbor's  family, 
helped  in  the  housework.  In  other  words,  the  industrial 
revolution  of  the  century  has  aflFected  domestic  service 
along  with  other  sorts  of  labor,  by  separating  employer 
and  employed  into  distinct  classes.  With  the  Negro  the 
eflFect  of  this  was  not  apparent  so  long  as  slavery  lasted  ; 
the  house  servant  remained  an  integral  part  of  the  master's 
family,  with  rights  and  duties.  When  emancipation  broke 
this  relation  there  went  forth  to  hire  a  number  of  trained 
black  servants,  who  were  welcomed  South  and  North ;  they 
liked  their  work,  they  knew  no  other  kind,  they  under- 
stood it,  and  they  made  ideal  servants.  In  Philadelphia 
twenty  or  thirty  years  ago  there  were  plenty  of  this  class 
of  Negro  servants  and  a  few  are  still  left. 

A  generation  has,  however,  greatly  altered  the  face  of 
aflFairs.  There  were  in  the  city,  in  1890,  42,795  servants, 
and  of  these  10,235  were  Negroes.  Who  are  these 
Negroes?  No  longer  members  of  Virginia  households 
trained  for  domestic  work,  but  principally  young  people 
who  were  using  domestic  service  as  a  stepping-stone  to 
something  else ;  who  worked  as  servants  simply  because 
they  could  get  nothing  else  to  do ;  who  had  received  no 
training  in  service  because  they  never  expected  to  make  it 
their  life-calling.  They,  in  common  with  their  white  fel- 
low citizens,  despised  domestic  service  as  a  relic  of  slavery, 
and  they  longed  to  get  other  work  as  their  fathers  had 
longed  to  be  free.  In  getting  other  work,  however,  they 
were  not  successful,  partly  on  account  of  lack  of  ability, 
partly  on  account  of  the  strong  race  prejudice  against 
them.  Consequently  to-day  the  ranks  of  Negro  servants, 
and  that  means  largely  the  ranks  of  domestic  service  in 
general  in  Philadelphia,  have  received  all  those  whom  the 


r 


138  The  Occupations  of  Negroes.        [Chap.  IX. 

harsh  competition  of  a  great  city  has  pushed  down,  all 
whom  a  relentless  color  proscription  has  turned  back  from 
other  chosen  vocations  ;  half-trained  teachers  and  poorly 
equipped  students  who  have  not  succeeded  ;  carpenters  and 
masons  who  may  not  work  at  their  trades  ;  girls  with  com- 
mon school  training,  eager  for  the  hard  work  but  respect- 
able standing  of  shop  girls  and  factory  hands,  and  proscribed 
by  their  color — in  fact,  all  those  young  people  who,  by 
natural  evolution  in  the  case  of  the  whites,  would  have 
stepped  a  grade  higher  than  their  fathers  and  mothers  in 
the  social  scale,  have  in  the  case  of  the  post-bellum  gen- 
eration of  Negroes  been  largely  forced  back  into  the  great 
mass  of  the  listless  and  incompetent  to  earn  bread  and 
butter  by  menial  service. 

And  they  resent  it ;  they  are  often  discontented  and 
bitter,  easily  offended  and  without  interest  in  their  work. 
Their  attitude  and  complaint  increases  the  discontent  of 
their  fellows  who  have  little  ability,  and  probably  could 
not  rise  in  the  world  if  they  might  And,  above  all,  both 
the  disappointed  and  the  incompetents  are  alike  ignorant 
of  domestic  service  iu  nearly  all  its  branches,  and  in  this 
respect  are  a  great  contrast  to  the  older  set  of  Negro 
servants. 

Under  such  circumstances  the  first  far-sighted  movement 
would  have  been  to  open  such  avenues  of  work  and 
employment  to  young  Negroes  that  only  those  best  fitted 
for  domestic  work  would  enter  service.  Of  course  this  is 
difiBcult  to  do  even  for  the  whites,  and  yet  it  is  still  the 
boast  of  America  that,  within  certain  limits,  talent  can 
choose  the  best  calling  for  its  exercise.  Not  so  with  Negro 
youth.  On  the  contrary,  the  field  for  exercising  their  talent 
and  ambition  is,  broadly  speaking,  confined  to  the  dining 
room,  kitchen  and  street.  If  now  competition  had  drained 
off  the  talented  and  aspiring  into  other  avenues,  and  eased 
the  competition  in  this  one  vocation,  then  there  would 
have  been  room  for  a  second  movement,  namely,  for  training 


Sect  23.]  Occupations  in  the  City.  139 

schools,  which  would  fit  the  mass  of  Negro  and  white 
domestic  servants  for  their  complicated  and  important 
duties.  Such  a  twin  movement — ^the  diversification  of 
Negro  industry  and  the  serious  training  of  domestic  ser- 
vants— would  do  two  things :  it  would  take  the  ban  from 
the  calling  of  domestic  service  by  ceasing  to  make  "Negro  " 
and  "  servant "  synonymous  terms.  This  would  make  it 
possible  for  both  whites  and  blacks  to  enter  more  freely  into 
service  without  a  fatal  and  disheartening  loss  of  self- 
respect  ;  secondly,  it  would  furnish  trained  servants — a  sad 
necessity  to-day,  as  any  housekeeper  can  testify. 

Such  a  movement  did  not,  however,  take  place,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  another  movement.  English  trained  ser- 
vants, the  more  docile  Swedes  and  better  paid  white  ser- 
vants were  brought  in  to  displace  Negro  servants.  One 
has  but  to  notice  the  coachmen  on  the  driveways,  or  the 
butlers  on  Rittenhouse  Square,  or  the  nursemaids  in  Fair- 
mount  Park,  to  see  how  largely  white  servants  have  dis- 
placed Negroes.  How  has  this  displacement  been  brought 
about  ?  First,  by  getting  better  trained  and  more  willing 
servants ;  secondly,  by  paying  servants  higher  wages.  The 
Swedish  and  American  servants,  in  most  cases,  know  more 
of  domestic  service  than  the  post-bellum  generation  of 
Negroes,  and  certainly  as  a  class  they  are  far  more  recon- 
ciled to  their  lot  In  the  higher  branches  of  domestic  ser- 
vice—<:ooks,  butlers  and  coachmen — the  process  has  been 
to  substitute  a  man  at  $50  to  $75  a  month  for  one  at  $30 
to  $40,  and  naturally  again  the  result  has  been  gratifying, 
because  a  better  class  of  men  are  attracted  by  the  wages  ; 
thus  the  waiters  at  the  new  large  hotels  are  not  merely 
white,  but  better  paid,  and  undoubtedly  ought  to  render  bet- 
ter service.  In  these  ways  without  doubt  domestic  service 
has  in  some  respects  improved  in  the  city  by  a  partial  substi- 
tution of  better  trained,  better  paid  and  more  contented  white 
servants  for  poorly  trained,  discontented,  and  in  the  case 
of  waiters,  butlers  and  coachmen,  poorly  paid  Negroes. 


r^o  The  Occupations  of  Negroes.        [Chap,  IX. 

Moreover,  the  substitution  has  not  met  with  active  opposi- 
tion or  economic  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Negroes, 
because  fully  one-half  of  those  in  domestic  service  would 
be  only  too  glad  to  get  other  work  of  any  kind. 

What  now  has  been  the  result  of  these  economic  changes  ? 
The  result  has  undoubtedly  beeu  the  increase  of  crime,  pau- 
perism and  idleness  among  Negroes  :  because  while  they  are 
I  being  to  some  extent  displaced  as  servants,  no  correspond- 
ing opening  for  employment  in  other  lines  has  been  made. 
How  long  can  such  a  process  continue?  How  long  can  a 
community  pursue  such  a  contradictory  economic  policy — 
first  confining  a  large  portion  of  its  population  to  a  pursuit 
which  public  opinion  persists  in  looking  down  upon;  then 
displacing  them  even  there  by  better  trained  and  better  paid 
competitors.  Manifestly  such  a  course  is  bound  to  make 
that  portion  of  the  community  a  burden  on  the  public  ;  to 
debauch  its  women,  pauperize  its  men,  and  ruin  its  homes  ; 
it  makes  the  one  central  question  of  the  Seventh  Ward, 
not  imperative  social  bettennents,  raising  of  the  standard 
of  home  life,  taking  advantage  of  the  civilizing  institutions 
of  the  great  city — on  the  contrary,  it  makes  it  a  sheer 
question  of  bread  and  butter  and  the  maintenance  of  a 
standard  of  living  above  that  of  the  Virginia  plantation. 

Nor  has  the  whole  group  failed  in  every  case  to  answer 
this  question  :  the  foregoing  statistics  show  how,  slowly  and 
under  many  discouragements,  diversification  of  employ- 
ments is  taking  place  among  the  black  population.  This, 
however,  is  the  brighter  side  and  represents  the  efforts  of 
that  determined  class  among  all  people  that  surmount 
eventually  nearly  all  obstacles.  The  spirit  of  the  age 
however  looks  to-day  not  to  the  best  and  most  energetic, 
but  to  those  on  the  edge,  those  who  will  become  effect- 
ive members  of  society  only  when  properly  encouraged.  The 
great  mass  of  the  Negroes  naturally  belong  to  this  class  aud 
when  we  turn  to  the  darker  side  of  the  picture  and  study 
the  disease,  poverty  aud  crime  of  the  Negro  population, 


Sect  24.]  History  of  Occupations.  141 

then  we  realize  that  the  question  of  employment  for 
Negroes  is  the  most  pressing  of  the  day  and  that  the  starting 
point  is  domestic  service  which  still  remains  their  peculiar 
province.  First  then  as  before  said  the  object  of  social 
reform  should  be  so  to  diversify  Negro  employments  as  to 
afford  proper  escape  from  menial  employment  for  the 
talented  few,  and  so  as  to  allow  the  mass  some  choice  in 
their  lifework  :  this  would  be  not  only  for  the  sake  of 
Negro  development,  but  for  the  sake  of  a  great  human 
industry  which  must  continue  to  suffer  as  long  as  the  odium 
of  race  is  added  to  a  disposition  to  look  down  upon  the 
employment  under  any  circumstances ;  the  next  movement 
ought  to  be  to  train  servants — not  toward  servility  and  toady- 
ing, but  in  problems  of  health  and  hygiene,  in  proper  clean- 
ing and  cooking,  and  in  matters  of  etiquette  and  good  form. 

To  this  must  be  added  such  arousing  of  the  public  con- 
science as  shall  lead  people  to  recognize  more  keenly  than 
now  the  responsibility  of  the  family  toward  its  servants — to 
remember  that  they  are  constituent  members  of  the  family 
group  and  as  such  have  rights  and  privileges  as  well  as 
duties.  To-day  in  Philadelphia  the  tendency  is  the  other 
way.  Thousands  of  servants  no  longer  lodge  where  they 
work  but  are  free  at  night  to  wander  at  will,  to  hire  lodg- 
ings in  suspicious  houses,  to  consort  with  paramours,  and 
thus  to  bring  moral  and  physical  disease  to  their  place  of 
work.  A  reform  is  imperatively  needed,  and  here,  as  in  most 
of  the  Negro  problems,  a  proper  reform  will  benefit  white 
and  black  alike — the  employer  as  well  as  the  employed. 

24.  History  of  the  Occupations  of  Negroes. — There 
early  arose  in  the  colony  of  Pennsylvania  the  custom  of 
hiring  out  slaves,  especially  mechanics  -and  skilled  work- 
men. This  very  soon  roused  the  ire  of  the  free  white 
workmen,  and  in  1708  and  1722  we  find  them  petitioning 
the  legislature  against  the  practice,  and  receiving  some 
encouragement  therefrom.*  As  long,  however,  as  an  in- 
fluential class  of  slaveholders  had  a  direct  financial  interest 


142  The  Occupations  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  IX. 

in  black  mechanics  they  saw  to  it  that  neither  law  nor 
prejudice  hindered  Negroes  from  working.  Thus  before 
and  after  the  Revolution  there  were  mechanics  as  well  as 
servants  among  the  Negroes.  The  proportion  of  servants, 
however,  was  naturally  very  large.  We  have  no  figures 
until  1820,  when  of  the  7582  Negroes  in  the  city,  2585  or  34 
per  cent  were  servants ;  in  1840,  27  per  cent  were  servants. 
Some  of  these  servants  represented  families,  so  that  the 
proportion  of  those  dependent  on  domestic  service  was 
larger  even  than  the  percentage  indicated.  In  1896  in  the 
Seventh  Ward  the  per  cent  of  servants,  using  the  same 
method  of  computation  was  27.3  per  cent. 

Of  those  not  servants,  the  Negroes  themselves  declared 
in  1832,  that  "  notwithstanding  the  difficulty  of  getting 
places  for  our  sons  as  apprentices  to  learn  mechanical 
trades,  owing  to  the  prejudices  with  which  we  have  to  con- 
tend, there  are  between  four  and  five  hundred  people  of  color 
in  the  city  and  suburbs  who  follow  mechanical  employ- 
ments." In  1838  the  investigator  of  the  Abolition  Society 
found  997  of  the  17,500  Negroes  in  the  county  who  had 
learned  trades,  although  only  a  part  of  these  (perhaps  350) 
actually  worked  at  their  trades  at  that  time.  The  rest,  out- 
side the  servants  and  men  with  trades,  were  manual 
laborers.  Many  of  these  mechanics  were  afterward  driven 
from  the  city  by  the  mobs. 

In  1848  another  study  of  the  Negroes  found  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  Negroes  as  follows : 

Of  3358  men,  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  over : 

Laborers 1581 

Waiters,  cooks,  etc 557 

Mechanics 286 

Coachmen,  carters,  etc 276 

Sailors,  etc 240 

Shopkeepers,  traders,  etc 166 

Barbers 156 

Various  occupations 96 

3358 


Sect  24.]  History  of  Occupations.  143 

Of  4249  women,  twenty-one  years  and  over  there  were : 

Washerwomen 1970 

Seamstresses 486 

Day  workers 786 

In  trades • 313 

Housewives 390 

Servants  (living  at  home) 156 

Cooks 173 

Ragpickers 103 

Various  occupations 73 

4249 

Of  both  sexes  five  to  twenty  years  of  age  there  were : 

School  children 1940 

Unaccounted  for isoo 

At  home 484 

Helpless 33 

Working  at  home 374 

Servants 354 

Laborers 353 

Sweeps 13 

Porters 18 

Apprentices 330 

4798 

Besides  these  there  were  in  white  families  3716  servants. 

Just  how  accurate  the  statistics  of  1847  were  it  is  now 
difficult  to  say,  probably  there  was  some  exaggeration  from 
the  well-meant  eflFort  of  the  friends  of  the  Negro  to  show 
the  best  side.  Nevertheless  it  seems  as  though  the  diver- 
sity of  employments  at  this  time  was  considerable,  although 
of  course  under  such  heads  as  **  shop  keepers  and  traders  " 
street  stands  more  often  than  stores  were  meant. 

In  1856  the  inquiry  appears  to  have  been  more  exhaus- 
tive and  careful,  and  the  number  of  Negroes  with  trades 
had  increased  to  1637 — including  barbers  and  dressmakers. 
Even  here,  however,  some  uncertainty  enters,  for  "  less  than 
two-thirds  of  those  who  have  trades  follow  them.  A  few 
of  the  remainder  pursue  other  avocations  from  choice,  but 
the  greater  number  are  compelled  to  abandon  their  trades 


144  7>^  Occupations  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  IX. 

on  account   of  the    unrelenting  prejudice  against  their 
color."     The  following  table  gives  these  returns : 

Occupation  op  Philadblphia  Nbgrobs,  1856. 

Mechanical  Trades, 

Dressmakers 588 

Barbers 248 

Shoemakers 112 

Shirt  and  dressmakers 70 

Brickmakers .'  .   .' 53 

Carpenters 49 

Milliners  and  dressmakers 45 

Tailors 49 

Tanners  and  curriers 24 

Blacksmiths 22 

Cabinetmakers 20 

Weavers 16 

Pastry  cooks 10 

Plasterers    ^  •   .   .   <  ^ 14 

Sailmakers 12 

ii3other  trades  with  one  to  nine  in  each 305 

1637 

In  the  light  of  such  historical  testimony  it  seems  certain 
that  the  industrial  condition  of  the  Negro  in  the  last  cen- 
tury has  undergone  great  vicissitudes,  although  it  is  difficult 
sometimes  to  trace  them.  A  diagram  something  like  this 
would  possibly  best  represent  the  historical  development 
for  a  century  : 


tArra 

^ 

MADn 

•       ^ 

tOAU  ^* 

wa.cuA 

1 

1700     900      no       v«20      030.      040       IB50      I860      QTO      1880 

Such  a  diagram  must  of  course  be  based  largely  upon 
conjecture,  but  it  represents  as  nearly  as  the  data  allow 
the  proportionate — not  the  absolute— extent  to  which  the 
Negroes  of  the  city  are  represented  in  certain  pursuits. 


Sect.  24.]  History  of  Occupations.  145 

In  the  half  century  1840  to  1890  the  proportion  of 
Negroes  who  are  domestic  servants  has  not  greatly  changed ; 
the  mass  of  the  remainder  are  still  laborers  ;  their  oppor- 
tunities for  employment  have  been  restricted  by  three 
causes  :  competition,  industrial  change,  color  prejudice. 
The  competition  has  come  in  later  years  from  the  phenom- 
enal growth  of  cities  and  the  consequent  hardening  of 
conditions  of  life  :  the  Negro  has  especially  felt  this  change 
because  of  all  the  elements  of  our  urban  population  he  is 
least  prepared  by  previous  training  for  rough,  keen  compe- 
tition ;  the  industrial  changes  since  and  just  before  the 
emancipation  of  the  slaves  have  had  a  great  influence  on 
their  development,  to  which  little  notice  has  hitherto  been 
given.  In  the  industrial  history  of  nations  the  change 
from  agriculture  to  manufacturing  and  trade  has  been  a 
long,  delicate  process :  first  came  house  industries — ^spin- 
ning and  weaving  and  the  like  ;  then  the  market  with  its 
simple  processes  of  barter  and  sale  ;  then  the  permanent 
stall  or  shop,  and  at  last  the  small  retail  store.  In  our  day 
this  small  retail  store  is  in  process  of  evolution  to  some- 
thing larger  and  more  comprehensive.  When  we  look  at 
this  development  and  see  how  suddenly  the  American  city 
Negro  has  been  snatched  from  agriculture  to  the  centres  of 
trade  and  manufactures,  it  should  not  surprise  us  to  learn 
that  he  has  not  as  yet  succeeded  in  finding  a  permanent  place 
in  that  vast  system  of  industrial  co-operation.  Apart  from 
all  questions  of  race,  his  problem  in  this  respect  is  greater 
than  the  problem  of  the  white  country  boy  or  the  European 
peasant  immigrant,  because  his  previous  industrial  condition 
was  worse  than  theirs  and  less  calculated  to  develop  the 
power  of  self-adjustment,  self-reliance  and  co-operation. 
All  these  considerations  are  further  complicated  by  the  fact 
that  the  industrial  condition  of  the  Negro  cannot  be  con- 
sidered apart  from  the  great  fact  of  race  prejudice — ^indefi- 
nite and  shadowy  as  that  phrase  may  be.  It  is  certain 
that,  while  industrial  co-operation  among  the  groups  of  a 
10 


146  The  Occupations  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  IX. 

great  city  population  is  very  difficult  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, that  here  it  is  rendered  more  difficult  and  in 
some  respects  almost  impossible  by  the  fact  that  nineteen- 
twentieths  of  the  population  have  in  many  cases  refused 
to  co-operate  with  the  other  twentieth,  even  when  the 
co-operation  means  life  to  the  latter  and  great  advantage  to 
the  former.  In  other  words,  one  of  the  great  postulates  of 
the  science  of  economics — ^that  men  will  seek  their 
economic  advantage — \&  in  this  case  untrue,  because  in  many 
cases  men  will  not  do  this  if  it  involves  association,  even 
in  a  casual  and  business  way,  with  Negroes.  And  this 
fact  must  be  taken  account  of  in  all  judgments  as  to  the 
Negro's  economic  progress. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  HEALTH  OP  NEGROES. 

25.  The  Interpretation  of  Statistics. — ^The  character- 
istic signs  which  usually  accompany  a  low  civilization  are 
a  high  birth  rate  and  a  high  death  rate ;  or,  in  other 
words,  early  marriages  and  neglect  of  the  laws  of  physical 
health.  This  fact,  which  has  often  been  illustrated  by  sta- 
tistical research,  has  not  yet  been  fully  apprehended  by 
the  general  public  because  they  have  long  been  used  to 
hearing  more  or  less  true  tales  of  the  remarkable  health 
and  longevity  of  barbarous  peoples.  For  this  reason  the 
recent  statistical  research  which  reveals  the  large  death  rate 
among  American  Negroes  is  open  to  very  general  misappre- 
hension. It  is  a  remarkable  phenomenon  which  throws 
much  light  on  the  Negro  problems  and  suggests  some 
obvious  solutions.  On  the  other  hand,  it  does  not  prove, 
as  most  seem  to  think,  a  vast  recent  change  in  the  con- 
dition of  the  Negro.  Reliable  data  as  to  the  physical 
health  of  the  Negro  in  slavery  are  entirely  wanting  ;  and 
yet,  judging  from  the  horrors  of  the  middle  passage,  the 
decimation  on  the  West  Indian  plantations,  and  the  bad 
sanitary  condition  of  the  Negro  quarters  on  most  Southern 
plantations,  there  must  have  been  an  immense  death  rate 
among  slaves,  notwithstanding  all  reports  as  to  endur- 
ance, physical  strength  and  phenomenal  longevity.  Just 
how  emancipation  has  a£Fected  this  death  rate  is  not  clear ; 
the  rush  to  cities,  where  the  surroundings  are  unhealthful, 
has  had  a  bad  eflFect,  although  this  migration  on  a  large 
scale  is  so  recent  that  its  full  effect  is  not  yet  apparent ;  on 
the  other  hand,  the  better  care  of  children  and  improvement 
in  home  life  has  also  had  some  favorable  effect  On  the 
whole,  then,  we  must  remember  that  reliable  statistics  as 
to  Negro  health  are  but  recent  in  date  and  that  as  yet  no 

(147) 


148  The  Health  of  Negroes.  [Chap.  X. 

important  conclusions  can  be  arrived  at  as  to  historic 
changes  or  tendencies.  One  thing  we  must  of  course 
expect  to  find,  and  that  is  a  much  higher  death  rate  at 
present  among  Negroes  than  among  whites  :  this  is  one 
measure  of  the  difference  in  their  social  advancement  They 
have  in  the  past  lived  under  vastly  diflFerent  conditions  and 
they  still  live  under  diflFerent  conditions  :  to  assume  that, 
in  discussing  the  inhabitants  of  Philadelphia,  one  is  dis- 
cussing people  living  under  the  same  conditions  of  life,  is 
to  assume  what  is  not  true.  Broadly  speaking,  the  Negroes 
as  a  class  dwell  in  the  most  unhealthful  parts  of  the  city 
and  in  the  worst  houses  in  those  parts ;  which  is  of  course 
simply  saying  that  the  part  of  the  population  having  a 
large  degree  of  poverty,  ignorance  and  general  social 
degradation  is  usually  to  be  found  in  the  worst  portions  of 
our  great  cities. 

Therefore,  in  considering  the  health  statistics  of  the 
Negroes,  we  seek  first  to  know  their  absolute  condition, 
rather  than  their  relative  status ;  we  want  to  know  what 
their  death  rate  is,  how  it  has  varied  and  is  varying  and 
what  its  tendencies  seem  to  be  ;  with  these  facts  fixed  we 
must  then  ask,  What  is  the  meaning  of  a  death  rate  like 
that  of  the  Negroes  of  Philadelphia?  Is  it,  compared  with 
with  other  races,  large,  moderate  or  small ;  and  in  the  case 
of  nations  or  groups  with  similar  death  rates,  What  has 
been  the  tendency  and  outcome  ?  Finally,  we  must  com- 
pare the  death  rate  of  the  Negroes  with  that  of  the  com- 
munities in  which  they  live  and  thus  roughly  measure  the 
social  difference  between  these  neighboring  groups ;  we 
must  endeavor  also  to  eliminate,  so  far  as  possible,  from  the 
problem  disturbing  elements  which  would  make  a  differ- 
ence in  health  among  people  of  the  same  social  advance- 
ment. Only  in  this  way  can  we  intelligently  interpret 
statistics  of  Negro  health. 

Here,  too,  we  have  to  remember  that  the  collection  of 
statistics,  even  in   Philadelphia,  is  by  no  means  perfect. 


Sect.  26.]  The  Statistics  of  the  City. 


149 


The  death  returns  are  to  be  relied  upon,  but  the  returns  of 
births  are  wide  of  the  true  condition  ;  the  statistics  of  causes 
of  death  are  also  faulty. 

26.  The  Statistics  of  the  City. — The  mortality  of 
Negroes  in  Philadelphia,  according  to  the  best  reports,  has 
been  as  follows  -} 


Dmte. 


1820-1830 
I 830-1840 
I884-T890 
1891-1896 


Avera{ire  Annual 

Deaths  per  1000 

Negjoes. 


47.6 

32.5 

31.25* 
28.02t 


*  Includinfl:  still-births ;  excluding  still-births«  29.52. 

t  Including  still-births  and  assuming  the  average  Negro  population,  1891-1896,  at 
the  low  figure  of  41,500.*    For  this  period,  excluding  still-births,  25.41. 

The  average  annual  death   rate,  1884  to  1890,  in   the 
wards  having  over  1000  Negro  inhabitants,  was  as  follows  : 


Ward. 


Fourth 

Fifth 

Seventh 

Eighth 

Fourteenth 

Fifteenth 

Twentieth 

Twenty-second 

Twenty-third 

Twenty-sixth 

Twenty-seventh 

Twenty-ninth 

Thirtieth 

Twenty-fourth  and  Thirty-fourth 


City 


39.371 


Death  Rate  per 

1000,  excluding 

Still-births, 

1884-90 

43.38 
48.46 

30.54 
29.25 

22.38 

20.18 

18.64 

15.91 
18.67 

18.15 

39.86 

19.09 

21.74 

35. 1 J 

29.52 


*  The  earlier  figures  are  from  Dr.  Emerson's  reports,  in  the  **  Condition," 
etc.,  of  the  Negro,  1838,  and  from  the  pamphlet,  '*  Health  of  Convicts.*' 
All  the  tables,  1884  to  1890,  are  from  Dr.  John  Billings*  report  in  the 
Eleventh  Census.  Later  reports  are  compiled  from  the  City  Health 
Reports,  1890  to  1896. 

'This  figure  is  conjectural,  as  the  real  Negro  population  is  unknown|i 
Estimated  according  to  the  rate  of  increase  from  1880  to  1890,  the  avefr 
age  annual  population  would  have  been  42,229 ;  I  think  this  is  too  high, 
as  the  rate  of  increase  has  been  lower  in  this  decade.  ^^ 


150  The  Health  of  Negroes.  [Chap.  X. 

Separating  the  deaths  by  the  sex  of  the  deceased,  we 
have : 

Total  death  rate  of  Negroes,  1890,  (still-births 

included) 3>-42  per  looa 

For  Negro  males 36.0a 

For  Negro  females 29-23 


Separating  by  age,  we  have : 

Total  death  rate,  1890  (still-births  included) 

all  ages .   .  32.42  per  1000. 

Under  fifteen 69.24 

Fifteen  to  twenty 13.61 

Twenty  to  twenty-five 14.50 

Twenty-five  to  thirty-five 15.21 

Thirty-five  to  forty-five 17. 16 

Forty-five  to  fifty-five 29.41 

Fifty-five  to  sixty-five 40.09 

Sixty-five  and  over 116.49 


II 
II 
<i 
II 

K 
II 
II 
II 


The  large  infant  mortality  is  shown  by  the  average 
annual  rate  of  171.44  (including  still-births),  for  children 
under  five  years  of  age,  during  the  years  1884  to  1890. 

These  statistics  are  very  instructive.  Compared  with 
modem  nations  the  death  rate  of  Philadelphia  Negroes  is 
high,  but  not  extraordinarily  so:  Hungary  (33.7),  Austria, 
(30.6),  and  Italy  (28.6),  had  in  the  years  1871-90  a  larger 
average  than  the  Negroes  in  1891-96,  and  some  of  these 
lands  surpass  the  rate  of  1884-90.  Many  things  com- 
bine to  cause  the  high  Negro  death  rate :  poor  heredity, 
neglect  of  infants,  bad  dwellings  and  poor  food.  On  the 
other  hand  the  age  classification  of  city  Negroes  with  its 
excess  of  females  and  of  young  people  of  twenty  to  thirt>'- 
five  years  of  age,  must  serve  to  keep  the  death  rate  lower 
than  its  rate  would  be  under  normal  circumstances.  The  in- 
fluence of  bad  sanitary  surroundings  is  strikingly  illustrated 
in  the  enormous  death  rate  of  the  Fifth  Ward — the  worst 
%^pgro  slum  in  the  city,  and  the  worst  part  of  the  city  in 
/^fpect  to  sanitation.  On  the  other  hand  the  low  death 
i||^e  of  the  Thirtieth  Ward  illustrates  the  influences  of 


Sect  26J]  The  Statistics  of  the  City.  151 

good  houses  and  clean  streets  in  a  district  where  the  better 
class  of  Negroes  have  recently  migrated. 

The  marked  excess  of  the  male  death  rate  points  to  a 
great  difference  in  the  social  condition  of  the  sexes  in  the 
city,  as  it  far  exceeds  the  ordinary  disparity ;  as,  e.  g.^  in 
Germany  where  the  rates  are,  males  28.6,  females  25.3.* 
The  young  girls  who  come  to  the  city  have  practically 
no  chance  for  work  except  domestic  service.  This 
branch  of  work,  however,  has  the  great  advantage  of  being 
healthful ;  the  servant  has  usually  a  good  dwelling,  good 
food  and  proper  clothing.  The  boy,  on  the  contrary, 
usually  has  to  live  in  a  bad  part  of  the  city,  on  poorly  pre- 
pared or  irregular  food  and  is  more  exposed  to  the  weather. 
Moreover,  his  chances  of  securing  any  work  at  all  are  much 
smaller  than  the  girls'.  Consequently  the  female  death 
rate  is  but  81  per  cent  of  the  male  rate. 

When  we  turn  to  the  statistics  of  death  according  to  age, 
we  immediately  see  that,  as  is  usual  in  such  cases,  the  high 
death  rate  is  caused  by  an  excessive  infant  mortality, which 
ranks  very  high  compared  with  other  groups. 

The  chief  diseases  to  which  Negroes  fall  victims  are  '^ 


Disease. 


Consnmption 

Diseases  of  the  nervous  system 

Pneumonia 

Heart  disease  and  dropsy     .   . 

StiU-births 

Diarrheal  diseases 

Diseases  of  the  urinary  organs 
Accidents  and  injuries  .  .  . 
Typhoid  fever     


Death  Rate  per 
100,000,  1890. 


532.52 
388.86 
356.67 

257.59 
203.10 

193.19 

133.75 

99.07 

91.64 


For  the  period,  1 891-1896,  the  average  annual  rate  was 
as  follows : 


•This  and  other  comparisons  are  mostly  taken  from  Mayo-Smith, 
'* Statistics  and  Sociology." 
« For  death-rate,  1884-1890,  Cf.  below,  p.  159. 


152 


The  Health  of  Negroes. 


[Chap.  X. 


DUemse. 


Consamptiou 

Diseases  of  the  nervous  83r8tem 

Pneumonia 

Heart  disease  and  dropsy  .  . 
Still  and  premature  births  .  . 
Typhoid  fever      


Death  Rate  per 

200,000,  189X-1896. 


426.50 

307.63 
290.76 
172.69 
2TO.I2 

44.98 


The  strikingly  excessive  rate  here  is  that  of  consump- 
tion, which  is  the  most  fatal  disease  for  Negroes.  Bad  ven- 
tilation, lack  of  outdoor  life  for  women  and  children,  poor 
protection  against  dampness  and  cold  are  undoubtedly  the 
chief  causes  of  this  excessive  death  rate.  To  this  must  be 
added  some  hereditary  predisposition,  the  influence  of 
climate,  and  the  lack  of  nearly  all  measures  to  prevent  the 
spread  of  the  disease. 

We  find  thus  a  group  of  people  with  a  high,  but  not 
unusual  ^eath  rate,  which  rate  has  been  gradually  decreas- 
ing, if  statistics  are  reliable,  for  seventy-five  years.  This 
death  rate  is  due  principally  to  infantile  mortality  and 
consumption,  and  these  are  caused  chiefly  by  conditions  of 
life  and  poor  hereditary  physique. 

How  now  does  this  group  compare  with  the  condition  of 
the  mass  of  the  community  with  which  it  comes  in  daily 
contact?  Comparing  the  death  rates  of  whites  and 
Negroes,  we  have : 


Date. 


1820-1830  . 
1830-1840  . 
1884-1890* 
1891-18961 


Negroes. 


47-6 

32.5 

31.25 

25.41 


*  Including  still-births, 
t  Excluding  still-births. 

t  Assuming  white  population,  1891-96,  has  increased  in  the  same  ratio  as  1880-90,  and 
that  it  averaged  1,066,985  in  these  years. 
I  Assuming  that  the  mean  Negro  population  was  41,500. 

This  shows  a  considerable  difference  in  death  rates, 
amounting  to  nearly  lo  per  cent  in  1 884-1 890,  and  to  4 
per   cent   by  the   estimated   rates  of  1 891-1896.     If  the 


Sect  26.] 


The  Statistics  of  the  City, 


153 


estimate  of  population  on  which  the  latter  rate  is  based  is 
correct,  then  the  diflFerence  in  death  rate  is  not  larger  than 
would  be  expected  from  diflFerent  conditions  of  life/ 

The  absolute  number  of  deaths  (excluding  still-births) 
has  been  as  follows  : 


Year. 


1891 
1892 

1893 
1894 

1895 
1896 


Whites. 

Negroes. 

22,384 

983 

23*233 

1,072 

22,621 

1,034 

21,960 

1,030 

22,645 

1,151 

22.903 

1.079 

Comparing  the  death  rate  by  wards  we  have  this  table : 
Population  and  Dbath  Rate,  Phii,adki*puia,  1884-90. 


Wards. 


First  .  . 
Second. 
Third  . 
Fourth . 
Fifth  . 
Sixth  . 
Seventh 
Eighth . 
Ninth  . 
Tenth  . 
Eleventh 
Twelfth 


Population,  1890. 


White. 


53,057 
31,016 

19.043 

17.792 
14,619 

8.574 
21,177 

i3i94o 
9,284 

20,495 

12,931 
13,821 


Colored. 


794 
522 
861 

2,573 

2.335 

125 

8,861 

3.01 1 

497 

798 

II 

338 


Death  Rate  per  1000, 
excluding  Still-births. 


White. 


22.08 

2393 
23-91 
29.98 

25.67 
24.30 

24.30 
24.26 
25.40 
19.88 
28.31 

21.57 


Colored. 


33.07 
24.21 

21.71 

43.38 
48.46 

49.77 

30.54 

2925 
22.32 

14.51 
500.00 

4485 


*  The  official  figures  of  the  Board  of  Health  give  no  estimate  of  the 
Negro  death-rate  alone.  They  give  the  following  death  rate  for  the  city 
including  both  whites  and  blacks,  and  excluding  still-births: 

v^or  Total  Number  Death-rate  per  1000 

^^^^'  of  Deaths.  of  Population. 

189I 23,367  21.85 

1892 24,305  22.25 

1893 ....  23,655  21.20 

1894 22,680  19.90 

1895 23,796  20.44 

1896 23,982  20.17 

Average  death-rate  for  the  six  years,  20.97;  by  my  calculation,  the 
rate  for  the  whole  population  would  be  21.63. 


154 


The  Health  of  N^roes. 


[Chap.  X. 


PoFUX,ATioN  AND  Dbath  Rat8,  x'^-^ffi^ConHnutd. 


Wmrds. 


Thirteenth  .    .  . 

Fourteenth .    .  . 
Fifteenth 

Sixteenth    .   .  . 

Seventeenth    .  . 

Eighteenth.   .  . 

Nineteenth .   .  . 

Twentieth   .   .  . 

Twenty-first    .  , 

Twenty- second  , 

Twenty-third  .  . 

Twenty-fourth  . 

Twenty-fifth    .  , 

Twenty-sixth  .  . 
Twenty-seventh 

Twenty-eighth  . 
Twenty-ninth 

Thirtieth.   .   .  . 

Thirty-first .   .  , 
Thirty-second 

Thirty-third    .  . 
Thirty-fourth  . 


Whole  city 


Population,  1890. 

White. 

Colored. 

17.362 

539 

19.339 

1.379 

50.954 

1,751 

16,973 

104 

19,412 

124 

29,142 

I 

55.249 

275 

43,127 

1,333 

36,800 

93 

43.512 

1.798 

34.255 

1,026 

41,600 

9^0 

35,677 

260 

60,722 

1.375 

30,712 

2,077 

45.727 

644 

53.261 

1,476 

28,808 

1,789 

32.944 

16 

29.662 

382 

32,975 

190 

22,628 

1.073 

1,006,590 


39.371 


Death  Rate  per  xooo, 
excluding  StUl-blrtha. 


White. 


20.67 

21.47 
20.08 

28.04 

28.89 

24.42 

23.73 
20.77 

19.45 

17.77 
18.50 

17.95 
24.29 
19.48 

31.91 
15.56 
20.19 
22.12 
21.46 
14.61 

13.07 


21.54 


*  Death  rate  included  in  that  of  the  Twenty-fourth  ward. 


Colored. 


2a76 
2x58 
2a  18 
46.38 

64.95 
90.91 

51.33 
18.64 
56.78 

15.91 
18.67 

35." 

33.33 
18.15 

39.86 

15.96 
19.09 

21.74 

57.47 
1366 
18.63 


29.52 


From  this  table  we  may  make  some  interesting  compari- 
sons ;  take  first  the  worst  wards : 


"Ward. 


Fourth 
Fifth   . 
Seventh 
Bighth 


Negroes.* 

43.38 
48.46 

30.54 
29.25 


*  Total  Negro  population,  16,780. 

In  all  these  wards  there  is  a  large  Negro  population  com- 
prising a  considerable  per  cent  of  new  immigrants ;  and 
these  wards  contain  the  worst  slum  districts  and  most  un- 
sanitary dwellings  of  the  city.  However,  there  are  in 
these  same  wards  peculiar  circumstances  which  decrease 
the  death  rate  of  the  whites  :  First,  in  the  Fourth  and 
Fifth  wards  a  large  number  of  foreign  immigrants  whose 


Sect.  26.] 


The  Statistics  of  the  City. 


155 


death  rate,  on  account  of  the  absence  of  old  people  and 
children,  is  small ;  and  of  Jews  whose  death  rate  is,  on 
account  of  their  fine  family  life,  also  small ;  secondly,  in  the 
Seventh  and  Eighth  wards  there  are,  as  all  Philadelphians 
know,  large  sections  inhabited  by  the  best  people  of  the 
city,  with  a  death  rate  below  the  average. 
Taking  another  set  of  wards,  we  have  : 


Wmrd. 


Fourteenth  .  . 
Fifteenth  .  .  . 
Twenty-sixth  . 
Twen^-seventh 
Thirtieth   .   .  . 


22.38 
20.18 
18.15 
39.86 
21.74 


^  Total  Negro  population,  8,371. 

Here  we  have  quite  a  different  tale.  These  are  the 
wards  where  the  best  Negro  families  have  been  renting 
and  buying  homes  in  the  last  ten  years,  in  order  to  escape 
from  the  crowded  down  town  wards.  The  Thirtieth  and 
Twenty-sixth  wards  are  the  best  sections ;  the  statistics  of 
the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  wards  show  the  same  thing 
although  their  validity  is  somewhat  vitiated  by  the  large 
number  of  Negro  servants  there  in  the  prime  of  life. 

A  last  set  of  wards  is  as  follows  : 


Ward. 


Twentieth .  .  . 
Twenty-aecond 
Twen^-third    . 
Twenty-eighth 
TiTen^-ninth  . 


Whites. 

Negroes.* 

20.77 

18.64 

17.77 

15.91 

1850 

18.67 

15.56 

15.96 

20.19 

19.09 

*  Total  Negro  population,  6,277. 


In  most  of  these  some  exceptional  circumstances  make 
the  Negro  death  rate  abnormally  low.  Generally  this 
arises  from  the  fact  that  these  are  white  residential  wards 
and  the  Negro  population  is  largely  composed  of  servants. 
These,  as  has  been  before  noted,  have  a  small  death  rate 
because  of  their  ages,  and  then  too,  when  they  are  sick 


156 


The  Health  of  Negroes. 


[Chap.  X. 


they  go  home  to  die  in  the  Seventh  Ward,  or  to  the  hos- 
pitals in  the  Twenty-seventh  and  other  wards. 

These  tables  wonld  seem  to  adduce  considerable  proof 
that  the  Negro  death  rate  is  largely  a  matter  of  condition 
of  living. 

When  we  look  at  the  comparative  deaths  of  the  races, 
by  sex,  we  see  that  the  forces  operating  among  Negroes  to 
make  a  disparity  between  the  death  rates  of  men  and 
women  are  largely  absent  among  the  whites. 


S«x. 

White. 

N.^. 

ToUl. 

Male 

S3. 85 
SO.  79 

36.0a 

14.30 

( 1S90,  including  still-births.) 
The  age  structure  reveals  partially  the  character  of  the 
great  differences  in  death  rate  between  the  races.     (See 
page  1 5  7-) 


DEA.TH  Rats  of  Fhiladbu'iiia  by 

RATI  MR  1 

IGR  Periods 

FOB 

1890. 

AGE  PERIODS 

"™(0-«l|»>M|s<f«) 

40M 

vy«itiyn 

70«)BWO 

^ 

lOWM 

KMtO 

UNDtH  15 

■*^ 

■1 

■ 

18  —  20 

E 

20  —  29 

a 

..-.. 

■p 

M— 4B 

■^' 

*6  — 86 

■■ 

55  — ftB 

^■i 

69  COVER 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

■ 

Sect  26.] 


rAe  Statistics  of  the  City. 


'SK:iRa5i;3^R51i5=Si" 


nii%w 


MftSJS^JTRJiKSfiJIiRSCTSft 


saSSs5»s|SKt6S5«s«K 


SS?fHJaS|SS5«tf|E3 


s???HSS?l€i;*?HR&S 


■ssss=:65?f^s«ssisaM 


SB63f?H5SS?p,itJJ55 


Jl  W  tS  (- 1- f  t- fc  t- C  H  H 1- 1- 1- B.  fS  ID 


158 


The  Health  of  Negroes. 


[Chap.  X. 


Dhath  Rats  m  Philadelphia,  1S90,  by  Bight  Aos  Pbuom. 


Color. 

|. 

f 

i 

1 

1 

i 

11 

Total  whilea 

Total  ftnalc  whlln  '.'.'.'.'. 

TSuiSa^™pw» ; : : : ; 

Total  female  NeEToa 

NMlve  JIbitrmBle.'  '.'.'.'.'. 
Native  white  female.   .... 

11.18 
»3.8s 

J0-7B 

E" 

ll.liD 

63.  n 

6.17 

8.6* 

96s 

■0.65 
lol^l 

11-60 
1J..6 
l».5S 

i>.as 

'il 

40.09 

47-70 
i^«. 

88.88 

For  children  under  five,  including  still-births,  we  find 
these  average  annual  death  rates,  1884-1890: 


Race. 

City. 

Seventh  Wai4. 

94.00 
171.44 

IIIJH 

W-79 

>3a-63 

Nothing  shows  more  plainly  the  poor  home  life  of  the 
Negroes  than  these  figures.  A  comparison  of  the  difier- 
ences  in  death  rate  from  vaaous  diseases  will  complete  the 
picture : 


Death  Ratb  pkr  i 


0,000  FRou  Spkcipiss  Diseasbs,  1890. 
For  W/ioU  City. 


Coiuumptlon 

Pnenmonia 

Diairheal  diseasea 

Diseaies  of  the  nervoiu  system    . 

Diphtheria  and  croup 

Diseaaes  of  the  urinaij  systein   . 
Beart  disease  and  dropsj     .   ,   . 

Cancer  and  tumor 

Disease  of  the  liver 

Halarial  fever 

Typhoid  fever 

SUll-birtha 


53a.S» 

369.43 

180.31 

303.01 

133-75 

&>St 

a57.S9 

157.16 

5663 

ia.38 

97.fi3 

91.64 

73.8a 

303.10 

"35-61 

Other  accidcnli  and  injnrie» 


Sect  a6.] 


The  Statistics  of  the  City, 


^59 


AVERAGB  ANNUAX.  DEATH  RATE  OF  PHII^ADEI^HIA,    1884-1890,  PEm 

EACH  100,000  OF  Population. 
For  Specified  Diseases. 


All  causes 

Scarlet  fever    .... 

Typhoid  fever .... 

Malarial  fever  .... 

Diphtheria 

Croup 

Diarrheal  diseases  .   . 

Consumption  .... 

Pneumonia 

Measles 

Whooping-congh   .   . 

Cancer  and  tumor  .   . 

Heart  disease  and 
dropsy 

Childbirth  and  puer- 
peral diseases  .   .   . 

Diseases  of  liver  .  . 
nervous  system 
urinary  organs 

Old  age 

Still  births  .   .   . 

All  other  causes  .   .   . 

Unknown 


Whites. 

Total. 

Total. 

Native. 

Foreign. 

230.X.43 

3269.19 

2562.31 

1470.26 

26.18 

26.86 

35.84 

2.39 

69.35 

69.65 

73.10 

60.25 

7.21 

51.48 

8.22 

4.37 

50.48 

69.30 

2.92 

47.82 

4903 

66.41 

1.66 

156. 1 1 

155.30 

196.16 

43.94 

297.87 

287.06 

299.29 

253-72 

164.17 

158.77 

174.79 

1 15. 13 

ia67 

10.67 

14.37 

.60 

".39 

10.69 

14.52 

.27 

54.73 

55.17 

48.15 

74.30 

146.27 

142.10 

37.44 

154.83 

10.06 

9.98 

9.61 

11.00 

27.58 

28.32 

24.70 

38.18 

318.83 

315.86 

373.38 

159-07 

74.90 

73.44 

72.54 

75.89 

46.08 

45-99 

37.13 

70.12 

117.68 

115.38 

157.72 

•      •      •       • 

656.01 

646.23 

743.50 

381.10 

iao2 

10.02 

10.19 

9.54 

Negro. 


3124.81 

9.82 

62.31 

7.68 

26.46 

18.78 

195.40 

557.36 

293.6a 

10.67 

28.17 

44.38 

246.25 

"95 
9.82 

390.07 
no.  II 

48.23 
172.84 
890.67 

10.24 


The  Negroes  exceed  the  white  death  rate  largely  in  con- 
sumption, pneumonia,  diseases  of  the  urinary  system,  heart 
disease  and  dropsy,  and  in  still-births  ;  they  exceed  moder- 
ately in  diarrheal  diseases,  diseases  of  the  nervous  system, 
malarial  and  typhoid  fevers.  The  white  death  rate  exceeds 
that  of  Negroes  for  diphtheria  and  croup,  cancer  and  tumor, 
diseases  of  the  liver,  and  deaths  from  suicide. 

We  have  side  by  side  and  in  intimate  relationship  in  a 
large  city  two  groups  of  people,  who  as  a  mass  differ  con- 
siderably from  each  other  in  physical  health  ;  the  differ- 
ence is  not  so  great  as  to  preclude  hopes  of  final  adjust- 
ment ;  probably  certain  social  classes  of  the  larger  group 
are  in  no  better  health  than  the  mass  of  the  smaller  group. 
So  too  there  are  without  doubt  classes  in  the  smaller  group 
whose  physicial  condition  is  equal  to,  or  superior  to  the 


i6o  Tlie  Health  of  Negroes,  [Chap.  X. 

average  of  the  larger  group.  Particularly  with  regard  to 
consumption  it  must  be  remembered  that  Negroes  are  not 
the  first  people  who  have  been  claimed  as  its  peculiar  vic- 
tims ;  the  Irish  were  once  thought  to  be  doomed  by  that 
disease — but  that  was  when  Irishmen  were  unpopular. 

Nevertheless,  so  long  as  any  considerable  part  of 
the  population  of  an  organized  community  is,  in  its 
mode  of  life  and  physical  efficiency  distinctly  and  no- 
ticeably below  the  average,  the  community  must  suffer. 
The  suffering  part  furnishes  less  than  its  quota  of 
workers,  more  than  its  quota  of  the  helpless  and 
dependent  and  consequently  becomes  to  an  extent  a  burden 
on  the  community.  This  is  the  situation  of  the  Negroes 
of  Philadelphia  to-day :  because  of  their  physical  health 
they  receive  a  larger  portion  of  charity,  spend  a  larger 
proportion  of  their  earnings  for  physicians  and  medicine, 
throw  on  the  community  a  larger  number  of  helpless 
widows  and  orphans  than  either  they  or  the  city  can  afford. 
Why  is  this  ?  Primarily  it  is  because  the  Negroes  are  as 
a  mass  ignorant  of  the  laws  of  health.  One  has  but  to  visit 
a  Seventh  Ward  church  on  Sunday  night  and  see  an  audi- 
ence of  1500  sit  two  and  threehours  in  the  foul  atmosphere 
of  a  closely  shut  auditorium  to  realize  that  long  formed 
habits  of  life  explain  much  of  Negro  consumption  and 
pneumonia  ;  again  the  Negroes  live  in  unsanitary  dwell- 
ings, partly  by  their  own  fault,  partly  on  account  of  the 
difficulty  of  securing  decent  houses  by  reason  of  race 
prejudice.  If  one  goes  through  the  streets  of  the  Seventh 
Ward  and  picks  out  those  streets  and  houses  which,  on 
account  of  their  poor  condition,  lack  of  repair,  absence  of 
conveniences  and  limited  share  of  air  and  light,  contain  the 
worst  dwellings,  one  finds  that  the  great  majority  of  such 
streets  and  houses  are  occupied  by  Negroes.  In  some 
cases  it  is  the  Negroes'  fault  that  the  houses  are  so  bad  ; 
but  in  very  many  cases  landlords  refuse  to  repair  and  refit 
for  Negro  tenants  because  they  know  that  there  are  few 


Sect  a6.]  The  Statistics  of  the  City.  i6l 

dwellings  which  Negroes  can  hire,  and  they  will  not  there- 
fore be  apt  to  leave  a  fair  house  on  account  of  damp  walls 
or  poor  sewer  connections.  Of  modern  conveniences 
Negro  dwellings  have  few.  Of  the  2441  families  of  the 
Seventh  Ward  only  14  per  cent  had  water  closets  and  baths, 
and  many  of  these  were  in  poor  condition.  In  a  city  of 
yards,  20  per  cent  of  the  families  had  no  private  yard 
and  consequently  no  private  outhouses. 

Again,  in  habits  of  personal  cleanliness  and  taking  proper 
food  and  exercise,  the  colored  people  are  woefully  defi- 
cient. The  Southern  field-hand  was  hardly  supposed  to 
wash  himself  regularly,  and  the  house-servants  were  none 
too  clean.  Habits  thus  learned  have  lingered,  and  a  gospel 
of  soap  and  water  needs  now  to  be  preached.  Negroes  are 
commonly  supposed  to  eat  rather  more  than  necessary.  And 
this  perhaps  is  partially  true.  The  trouble  is  more  in  the 
quality  of  the  food  than  its  quantity,  in  the  wasteful  method 
of  its  preparation,  and  in  the  irregularity  in  eating.*  For  in- 
stance, one  family  of  three  living  in  the  depth  of  dirt  and 
poverty  on  a  crime-stricken  street  spent  for  their  daily  food  : 

Cents. 

MUk,  for  child 4 

One  pound  pork  chops 10 

One  loaf  bread 5 

When  we  imagine  this  pork  fried  in  grease  and  eaten 
with  baker's  bread,  taken  late  in  the  afternoon  or  at  bed- 
time, what  can  we  expect  of  such  a  family  ?  Moreover, 
the  tendency  of  the  classes  who  are  just  struggling  out  of 
extreme  poverty  is  to  stint  themselves  for  food  in  order  to 
have  better  looking  homes;  thus  the  rent  in  too  many 
cases  eats  up  physical  nourishment. 

Finally,  the  number  of  Negroes  who  go  with  insufficient 
clothing  is  large.      One  of    the    commonest   causes  of 

*Cf.  Atwater  &  Woods:  Dietary  Studies  with  reference  to  the  Pood 
of  the  Negro  in  Alabama.  (Bulletin  No.  38,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture), 
p.  21,  uxd  passim. 

II 


1 62  The  Health  of  Negroes.  [Chap.  X. 

consumption  and  respiratory  disease  is  migration  from  the 
warmer  South  to  a  Northern  city  without  change  in  manner 
of  dress.  The  neglect  to  change  clothing  after  becoming 
damp  with  rain  is  a  custom  dating  back  to  slavery  time. 

These  are  a  few  obvious  matters  of  habit  and  manner  of 
life  which  account  for  much  of  the  poor  health  of  Negroes. 
Further  than  this,  when  in  poor  health  the  neglect  to  take 
proper  medical  advice,  or  to  follow  it  when  given,  leads  to 
much  harm.  Often  at  the  hospital  a  case  is  treated  and 
temporary  relief  given,  the  patient  being  directed  to 
return  after  a  stated  time.  More  often  with  Negroes  than 
with  whites,  the  patient  does  not  return  until  he  is  worse 
off  than  at  first.  To  this  must  be  added  a  superstitious 
fear  of  hospitals  prevalent]  among  the  lower  classes  of  all 
people,  but  especially  among  Negroes.  This  must  have 
some  foundation  in  the  roughness  or  brusqueness  of  man- 
ner prevalent  in  many  hospitals,  and  the  lack  of  a  tender 
spirit  of  sympathy  with  the  unfortunate  patients.  At  any 
rate,  many  a  Negro  would  almost  rather  die  than  trust 
himself  to  a  hospital. 

We  must  remember  that  all  these  bad  habits  and  sur- 
roundings are  not  simply  matters  of  the  present  generation, 
but  that  many  generations  of  unhealthy  bodies  have  be- 
queathed to  the  present  generation  impaired  vitality  and 
hereditary  tendency  to  disease.  This  at  first  seems  to  be 
contradicted  by  the  reputed  robustness  of  older  generations 
of  blacks,  which  was  certainly  true  to  a  degree.  There 
cannot,  however,  be  much  doubt,  when  former  social  condi- 
tions are  studied,  but  that  hereditary  disease  plays  a  large 
part  in  the  low  vitality  of  Negroes  to^iay,  and  the  health 
of  the  past  has  to  some  extent  been  exaggerated.  All  these 
considerations  should  lead  to  concerted  efforts  to  root  out 
disease.  The  city  itself  has  much  to  do  in  this  respect  For 
so  large  and  progressive  a  city  its  general  system  of  drainage 
is  very  bad;  its  water  is  wretched,  and  in  many  other 
respects  the  city  and  the  whole  State  are  "woefully  and 


Sect  26.]  The  Statistics  of  tJie  City,  163 

discreditably  behind  almost  all  the  other  States  in  Christen- 
dom.'*^ The  main  movement  for  reform  must  come  from 
the  Negroes  themselves,  and  should  start  with  a  crusade 
for  fresh  air,  cleanliness,  healthfully  located  homes  and 
proper  food.  All  this  might  not  settle  the  question  of 
Negro  health,  but  it  would  be  a  long  step  toward  it. 

The  most  difficult  social  problem  in  the  matter  of  Negro 
health  is  the  peculiar  attitude  of  the  nation  toward  the 
well-being  of  the  race.  There  have,  for  instance,  been 
few  other  cases  in  the  history  of  civilized  peoples  where 
human  suffigring  has  been  viewed  with  such  peculiar  in- 
diflference.  Nearly  the  whole  nation  seemed  delighted 
with  the  discredited  census  of  1870  because  it  was  thought 
to  show  that  the  Negroes  were  dying  oflF  rapidly,  and  the 
country  would  soon  be  well  rid  of  them.  So,  recently, 
when  attention  has  been  called  to  the  high  death-rate  of 
this  race,  there  is  a  disposition  among  many  to  conclude 
that  the  rate  is  abnormal  and  unprecedented,  and  that, 
since  the  race  is  doomed  to  early  extinction,  there  is  little 
left  to  do  but  to  moralize  on  inferior  species. 

Now  the  fact  is,  as  every  student  of  statistics  knows, 
that  considering  the  present  advancement  of  the  masses  of 
the  Negroes,  the  death  rate  is  not  higher  than  one  would 
expect;  moreover  there  is  not  a  civilized  nation  to-day 
which  has  not  in  the  last  two  centuries  presented  a  death- 
rate  which  equaled  or  surpassed  that  of  this  race.  That 
the  Negro  death-rate  at  present  is  anything  that  threatens 
the  extinction  of  the  race  is  either  the  bugbear  of  the  un- 
trained, or  the  wish  of  the  timid. 

What  the  Negro  death-rate  indicates  is  how  far  this  race 
is  behind  the  great  vigorous,  cultivated  race  about  it.  It 
should  then  act  as  a  spur  for  increased  eflFort  and  sound 
upbuilding,  and  not  as  an  excuse  for  passive  indifference, 
or  increased  discrimination. 


*Dr.    Dudley   Pemberton    before   the  State   Homeopathic   Medical 
Society. — Philadelphia  Ledger^  October  i,  1&96. 


LIBRm  OF  THE 
LELAl^JD  SUr^FORD  JR.  UfJIVERSITY. 


CHAPTER  XL 


THE    NEGRO   FAMILY. 

27.  The  Size  of  the  Family. — ^There  were  in  the 
Seventh  Ward,  in  1896,  7751  members  of  families  (includ- 
ing 171  persons  living  alone),  and  1924  single  lodgers.* 
The  average  size  of  the  family,  without  lodgers  and 
boarders,  was  3.18. 

Famiubs  According  to  Sizb. 


Number  in  Family. 


One  .   . 
Two  .    . 
Three    . 
Four .   . 
Five  .   . 
Six    .   . 
Seven   . 
Eight    . 
Nine .   . 
Ten   .    . 
Eleven . 
Twelve 
Thirteen 
Fourteen 
Fifteen . 


Total 


Lodgers 

Total  population 

Average  size  real  family 

Average  size  of  family,  including  single 

lodgers     

Average  size  of  census  family 


Nnmiber 

of 
Families. 


171 

1,031 

470 

327 

183 
106 

76 
28 

25 

13 

2 

4 

3 
I 


2,441 


Per  Cent  of 
Different 

Sise 
Families. 


7.0 
42.2 

44.3 


5.8 


0.7 


100 


•    •    • 


Members 

of 
Families. 


171 
2,062 
1,410 
1,308 

636 

532 
224 

225 

130 
22 
48 

39 
14 
15 


7,751 

1.924 

9,675 

318 

3.96 
5.08 


With  the  whole  population  of  the  ward  included,  the 
average  size  was   about  four,  and  counting  married  and 

*  Families  who  were  lodging — and  there  were  many — were  counted  as 
families,  not  as  lodgers.  They  were  mostly  young  couples  with  one  or 
no  children.  The  lodgers  were  not  counted  with  the  families  because  of 
their  large  numbers,  and  the  shifting  of  many  of  them  from  month  to 
month. 

(164) 


Sect  27.]  The  Size  of  the  Family,  165 

single  lodgers  as  part  of  the  renting  family,  the  average 
size  is  about  five.*  In  any  case  the  smallness  of  the 
families  is  remarkable,  and  is  probably  due  to  local 
causes  in  the  ward,  to  the  general  situation  in  the  city 
and  to  development  in  the  race  at  large.  The  Seventh 
Ward  is  a  ward  of  lodgers  and  casual  sojourners ;  newly 
married  couples  settle  down  here  until  they  are  compelled, 
by  the  appearance  of  children,  to  move  into  homes  of  their 
own,  and  these  in  later  years  are  being  chosen  in  the 
Twenty-^ixth,  Thirtieth  and  Thirty-sixth  wards,  and  up- 
town. Some  couples  leave  their  families  in  the  South 
with  grandmothers  and  live  in  lodgings  here,  returning  to 
Virginia  or  Maryland  only  temporarily  in  summer  or  win- 
ter ;  a  good  many  men  come  here  from  elsewhere,  live  as 
lodgers  and  support  families  in  the  country ;  then,  too, 
childless  couples  often  work  out,  the  woman  at  service  and 
the  man  lodging  in  this  ward ;  the  woman  joins  her 
husband  once  or  twice  a  week,  but  does  not  lodge  regularly 
there,  and  so  is  not  a  resident  of  the  ward  ;  such  are  the 
local  conditions  that  affect  greatly  the  size  of  families.  * 

The  size  of  families  in  cities  is  nearly  always  smaller 
than  elsewhere,  and  the  Negro  family  follows  this  rule ; 
late  marriages  among  them  undoubtedly  act  as  a  check  to 
population;  moreover,  the  economic  stress  is  so  great 
that  only  the  small  family  can  survive ;  the  large  fami- 
lies are  either  kept  from  coming  to  the  city  or  move 
away,  or,  as  is  most  common,  send  the  breadwinners  to  the 
city  while  they  stay  in  the  country.     It  is  of  course  but 

*  This  figure  is  obtained  by  dividing  the  total  population  of  the  ward 
by  the  number  of  homes  directly  rented,  viz.,  1675.  There  is  an  error 
here  arising  from  the  &ct  that  some  sub-renting  families  are  reaUy 
lodgers  and  should  be  coimted  with  the  census  family,  while  others  are 
partially  separate  families  and  some  wholly  separate.  This  error  can- 
not be  eliminated. 

*The  excessive  infant  mortality  also  has  its  influence  on  the  average 
size  of  families.  Cf.  Chapter  X.  Whether  infanticide  or  foeticide  is  preva- 
lent to  any  extent  there  are  no  means  of  knowing.  Once  in  a  while  such 
a  case  finds  its  way  to  the  courts. 


i66 


The  Negro  Family. 


[Chap.  XI. 


conjecture  to  say  how  far  these  causes  are  working  among 
the  general  Negro  population  of  the  country ;  but  consid- 
ering that  the  whole  race  has  to-day  begun  its  great  battle 
for  economic  survival,  and  that  few  of  the  better  class, 
male  or  female,  can  expect  to  get  married  early  in  life,  it 
is  fair  to  expect  that  for  several  decades  to  come  the  aver- 
age size  of  the  Negro  family  will  decrease  until  economic 
well-being  can  keep  pace  with  the  demands  of  a  rising 
standard  of  living ;  and  that  then  we  shall  have  another 
era  of  good-sized  though  not  very  large  Negro  families.* 

As  has  before  been  intimated,  the  diflSculty  of  earning 
income  enough  to  aflford  to  marry,  has  had  its  ill-eflFects  on 
the  sexual  morality  of  city  Negroes,  especially,  too,  since 
their  hereditary  training  in  this  respect  has  been  lax.  It 
is,  therefore,  fair  to  conclude  that  a  number  of  the  fami- 
lies of  two  are  simply  more  or  less  permanent  cohabita- 
tions ;  and  that  a  large  number  of  families  are  centres  of 
irregular  sexual  intercourse.  Observation  in  the  ward 
bears  out  this  conclusion,  and  shows  that  fifty-eight  of  the 
families  of  two  were  certainly  unmarried  persons. 

The  result  of  all  these  causes  is  shown  in  the  following 
table,  although  the  comparison  is  not  strictly  allowable; 
the  real  family  of  the  Negroes  is  compared  with  the  census 
family  of  other  groups,  and  this  exaggerates  the  proportion 
of  the  smaller  families  among  the  Negroes  : 


Number  in  Family. 


One 

Two 

Two  to  six  .  .  . 
Seven  to  ten  ,  . 
Eleven  and  over 


Whole 

Negjocs 

Popula- 

Brookrn, 

United 

Seventh 

tion  of 

N.  Y. 

SUtes. 

Ward. 

City. 

% 

% 

% 

^. 

7.0 

I.9I 

2.71 

3.63 

42.2 

•        • 

•        •        • 

•    •    • 

86.5 

74.67 

78.37 

73  33 

5.8 

21.09 

17.53 

20.97 

0.7 

2.33 

1.39 

2.07 

*  During  the  last  ten  years  I  have  been  bidden  to  a  dozen  or  more  wed- 
dings among  the  better  class  of  Negroes.  In  no  case  was  the  bridegroom 
under  30,  or  the  bride  under  20.  In  most  cases  the  man  was  about  35, 
and  the  woman  25  or  more. 


Sect  27.] 


The  Size  of  the  Family, 


167 


Further  comparison  with  France  may  be  made :  * 


Number  in  Family. 


One  .  .  . 

Two  to  three 
Four  to  five 
Six  or  more 


Negroei 

Seventh 

Ward. 


7.0 
61.5 
20.9 
10.6 


France. 


14.0 

41.3 
29.8 

14.5 


Making  allowance  for  the  errors  of  this  comparison,  it 
nevertheless  seems  true  that  the  conditions  of  family  life 
in  the  ward  are  abnormal  and  characterized  by  an  unusu- 
ally large  number  of  families  of  two  persons. 

There  are  no  statistics  for  the  Negro  families  of  the 
whole  city  such  as  would  serve  to  eliminate  the  local 
peculiarities  of  the  Seventh  Ward.  General  observation 
would  indicate  in  the  Fifth  and  Eighth  wards  similar  con- 
ditions to  the  Seventh.  In  most  of  the  other  wards  condi- 
tions are  diflferent,  and  in  all  probability  vary  widely  from 
these  crowded  central  wards.  Nevertheless,  throughout  all 
of  them  large  families  are  not  the  rule,  the  number  of 
bachelors  and  lodgers  is  considerable,  and  there  is  some 
cohabitation,  although  this  is,  in  the  city  at  large,  much 
less  prevalent  than  in  the  Seventh  Ward.  It  would  seem, 
therefore,  that  the  indications  of  our  study  of  conjugal 

*  The  figures  relative  to  other  groups  of  city  Negroes  as  collected  by 
the  conference  at  Atlanta  University  are  as  follows: 


8 

M  A 

a 


I 

2 

2-6 

7-10 

Ti  and 
Over. 


14 


{ 


6.79 
20.06 

7963 
13.58 


M 


3^ 


2.04 

17.89 
82.10 

15.45 
.41 


5.10 

25.51 
83.68 

11.22 


3 

o 

p( 

n 


4.69 

17.91 
78.04 

17.06 
.21 


o 

o 


4.75 
19.17 

79.85 

15.22 

.18 


These  figures  apply  to  only  1137  families  in  the  above  named  and  other 
cities.    Cf.  "  U.  S.  Bulletin  of  Labor,"  May,  1897. 


1 68  The  Negro  Family.  [Cliap.  XI. 

condition  were  here  emphasized,  and  that  the  Negro  urban 
home  has  commenced  a  revolution  which  will  either  purify 
and  raise  it  or  more  thoroughly  debauch  it  than  now ;  and 
that  the  determining  factor  is  economic  opportunity.  The 
full  picture  of  this  change  demands  statistics  of  births  and 
marriages  from  year  to  year.  These  unfortunately  are  not 
so  registered  as  to  be  even  partially  reliable.  Both  the 
birth  and  marriage  rate,  however,  are  in  all  probability 
steadily  decreasing.*  The  death-rate  also  comes  in  here 
as  a  factor,  not  only  by  reason  of  the  great  infant  mortality 
but  also  on  account  of  the  excessive  death-rate  of  the  men. 
In  all  this  one  catches  a  faint  glimpse  of  the  intricacy  and 
far-reaching  influence  of  the  Negro  problems. 

28.  Incomes. — The  economic  problem  of  the  Negroes 
of  the  city  has  been  repeatedly  referred  to.  We  now  come 
directly  to  the  question.  What  do  Negroes  earn?  In  a 
year  about  what  is  the  income  of  an  average  family  ? 
Such  a  question  is  difficult  to  answer  with  anything  like 
accuracy.  Only  returns  based  on  actual  written  accounts 
would  furnish  thoroughly  reliable  statistics ;  such  accounts 
cannot  be  had  in  this  case.  The  few  that  keep  accounts 
would  in  many  cases  naturally  be  unwilling  to  produce 
them.     On  the  other  hand,  the  great  mass  of  people  in  the 

'  The  birth  rate  for  the  city  is  given  in  official  returns  as  follows: 

1S94.  Total  for  city:  males,  16,185;  females,  14,552.  Negroes:  males, 
536;  females,  476. 

1895.  Total  for  city:  males,  15,618;  females,  14,220.  Negroes:  males, 
56S;  females,  524. 

1S96.  Total  for  city:  males,  15,534;  females,  14,219.  Negroes:  males, 
572;  females  514. 

Average  per  year  for  whites,  29,013. 

Average  per  year  for  Negroes,  1,063. 

White  birth  rate,  27.2  per  thousand. 

Negro  birth  rate,  25.  i  per  thousand. 

Assuming  white  population  as  1,066,985. 

Assuming  Negro  population  as  41,500. 

The  Department  of  Health  declares  these  returns  considerably  below 
the  truth,  and  the  omissions  among  Negroes  are  of  course  large.  Never- 
theless, the  Negro  birth  rate  in  Philadelphia  is  probably  not  high. 


Sect.  28.]  Incomes.  169 

lower  walks  of  life  scarcely  know  how  much  they  earn  in 
a  year.  The  tables  here  presented,  therefore,  must  be 
regarded  simply  as  careful  estimates.  These  estimates  are 
based  on  three  or  more  of  the  following  items :  (i)  The 
statement  of  the  family  as  to  their  earnings.  Some  of  the 
better  class  gave  a  general  estimate  of  their  average  yearly 
income ;  most  gave  the  wages  earned  per  week  or  month 
at  their  usual  occupation.  (2)  The  occupations  followed 
by  the  several  members  of  the  family ;  (3)  the  time  lost 
from  work  in  the  last  year  or  the  time  usually  lost ;  (4)  the 
apparent  circumstances  of  the  family  judging  from  the 
appearance  of  the  home  and  inmates,  the  rent  paid,  the 
presence  of  lodgers,  etc. 

In  most  cases  the  first  item  was  given  the  greatest  weight 
in  settling  the  matter,  but  was  modified  by  the  others;  in 
other  cases,  however,  either  this  statement  could  not  be  ob- 
tained or  was  vague,  and  in  a  few  instances  evidently  false. 
In  such  circumstances  the  second  item  was  decisive :  the 
occupations  followed  by  the  mass  of  Negroes  are  paid 
according  to  a  pretty  well-known  scale  of  prices ;  a  hotel 
waiter's  income  could  be  pretty  accurately  fixed  without 
further  data.  The  third  item  was  important  in  many 
occupations ;  stevedores,  for  instance,  receive  generally 
twenty  cents  per  hour ;  nevertheless,  few  if  any  earn  $600 
a  year,  because  they  lose  much  time  between  ships  and  in 
winter.  Finally,  as  a  general  corrective  to  deception  or 
inadvertence  the  circumstances  of  home  life  as  seen  by  the 
investigator  on  his  visit,  the  rent  paid — an  item  which 
could  be  pretty  accurately  ascertained — the  number  of 
lodgers,  the  occupation  of  the  housewife  and  children — ^all 
these  items  served  to  confirm  or  throw  doubt  on  the  con- 
clusions indicated  by  the  other  data,  and  were  given  some 
weight  in  the  final  judgment. 

Thus  it  can  easily  be  seen  that  these  returns  may  contain, 
and  probably  do  contain,  considerable  error.  On  the  one 
hand  they  cannot  be  as  accurate  as  returns  based  on  income 


170 


The  Negro  Family. 


[Chap.  XI. 


tax  reports,  and  on  the  other  hand  they  are  probably  more 
reliable  than  data  founded  solely  on  the  bare  statements  of 
those  asked.  The  personal  judgment  of  the  investigator 
enters  into  the  detennination  of  the  figures  to  a  larger 
extent  than  is  desirable,  and  yet  it  has  been  limited  as 
carefully  as  the  nature  of  the  inquirj-  permitted.^ 

The  income  according  to  size  of  family  is  indicated  in  the 
next  table.  Prom  this,  making  the  standard  a  family  of  five, 
IMCOMBS,  According  to  Sizb  of  Fauily  in  Seventh  Waxd,  1896. 


SiK  of  Family. 

^?| 

n 

"i 

~s 

3- 

4. 

5- 

6. 

r 

B. 

* 

.0. 

to 

»    5°      

~^ 

'4 

32 

18 

45 

ISO 

3' 

69;  19 

6 

4 

;g 

n 

'05   3S 

8 

' 

250 

f^ 

9.1 1  46 

7 

5 

214 

3»o 

loS    49 

33;     9 

3 

213 

3SO 

9 

330 

400 

4 

95'  39 

9 

6 

209 

4SO 

1 

79,  40 

t4 

7 

i 

1 

i 

17a 

500 

7 

US 

47 

26 

17 

3 

2 

256 

550 

23 

4 

4 

0 

i 

3S 

600 

17 

U 

\ 

7 

3 

3 

1 

54 

650 

4< 

26 

7 

a 

I 

125 

700 

16 

9 

5 

( 

3 

1 

63 

§S 

3 

23 

7 

19 

7 

13 
3 

7 
3 

5 

3 

I 

I 

94 
3* 

8so 

. 

3 

3 

A 

s 

3 

18 

900 

5      4 

8 

3 

3     5 

9 

I 

40 

'. 

I 

4 

■      ■ 

I 

iaoo-i5oo 

3!  10 

3 

5 

7     6 

3 

5 

46 

1500  and  over 

6    10 

U 

6 

i'\ 

3 

1 

5 

65 

Unknown  .    . 

15 

67I  17 

6     2 

. 

Unknown 

of  unknown  siie  .... 

55 

and  making  some  allowance  for  larger  and  smaller  families, 
we  can  conclude  that  19  per  cent  of  the  Negro  families  in 
the  Seventh  Ward  earn  five  dollars  and  less  per  week  on 
the  average;  48  per  cent  earn  between  $5  and  $10;  26  per 

'  There  were  many  familie*  who  were  undonbtedly  tempted  to  exag- 
gerate their  income  so  as  to  appear  better  off  than  they  were;  other*,  on 
the  cootTary,  anderstated  their  resources.  In  most  cases,  however,  the 
testimony  so  far  as  it  went  appeared  to  be  candid  and  honest. 


Sect  a8.]  Incomes.  171 

cent,  $io-$i5,  and  8  per  cent  over  $15  per  week.     Tabu- 
lating this  we  have : 


AWRKE    1 

MlOF  FAMIUE3 

% 

COMPARIftON. 

13 » LESS 

r.92 

e.9 

vEirrmiit^l 

*'%2e 

9.6 

POOR     ^H 

ft5-IO 

1068 

47.8 

FAIR  ^B^^^^m 

«I0-I5 

eai 

2S.3 

t-r^^-^^i"" 

$13-20 

91 

*. 

^^Jk 

(20  tow 

9fi 

♦.2 

»EU.'1H»| 

TOTAL 

2276 

100.00% 

It  is  difiScult  to  compare  tliis  with  other  groups  because 
of  the  varying  meaning  of  the  terms  poor,  well-to-do,  and 
the  like.  Nevertheless,  a  comparison  with  Booth's  diagram 
of  London  will,  if  not  carried  too  far,  be  interesting:* 

FOVBKTV  IN    lAlNDOM    AND    AMONG    THE  NBGROBS  OF  THS  SKVBNTH 


Ward  of  Philadblpbia. 


MX&9%        ZE2X57.4%        6L9X£S.5X        l7.S%&tX 


OLMtM    VUtrnxn  POOR  COMFOaTAtU     •HMUCIAUSAMIVE 

H^N^VEKYPOOR         PMHTOrAlK       COnrOtTASa .  COM)  CIMUH«TAT4CUft 

*Cf.  Booth's  "  Life  and  Labor  of  the  People,"  II,  ai.    Id  this  cue  I 


r 


IJi  The  Negro  Family.  [Chap  XI. 

The  chief  difficulty-  of  this  comparison  lies  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  population  between  the  "poor"  and  "com- 
fortable ; "  probably  the  former  class  among  the  Negroes  is 
here  somewhat  exaggerated.  At  any  rate,  the  division 
between  these  two  grades  is  in  the  Seventh  Ward  much 
less  stable  than  in  London  since  their  economic  status  is 
less  fixed.  lu  good  times  perhaps  50  per  cent  of  the 
Negroes  could  well  be  designated  comfortable,  but  in 
time  of  financial  stress  vast  numbers  of  this  class  fall 
below  the  line  into  the  poor  and  go  to  swell  the  number  of 
paupers,  and  in  many  cases  of  criminals.  Indeed  this 
■whole  division  into  incomes  of  different  classes  is,  among 
the  Negroes,  much  less  stable  than  among  the  whites,  just 
as  it  used  to  be  less  stable  among  the  whites  of  fifty  years 
ago  than  it  is  among  those  of  to-day. 

The  whole  division  into  "poor,"  "comfortable"  and 
"well-to-do"  depends  primarily  on  the  standard  of  living 
among  a  people.  Let  us,  therefore,  note  something  of  the 
income  and  expenditure  of  certain  families  in  different 
grades.'  The  very  poor  and  semi-criminal  class  are  con- 
gregated in  the  slums  at  Seventh  and  Lombard  Streets, 
Seventeenth  and  Lombard,  and  Eighteenth  and  Naudain, 
together  with  other  small  back  streets  scattered  over  the 
ward.  They  live  in  one  and  two-room  tenements,  scantily 
furnished  and  poorly  lighted  and  heated  ;  they  get  casual 
labor,  and  the  women  do  washing.  The  children  go  to 
school  irregularly  or  loaf  on  the  streets.  This  class  does 
not  frequent  the  large  Negro  churches,  but  part  of  them 
fill   the  small  noisy  missions.     The  vicious  and  criminal 

have  combined  Booth '3  two  lower  claasea,  "  lowest "  and  "  very  poor."  I 
ahall  discuss  the  crimiual  and  lowest  class  in  Chapters  XITI  and  XIV. 
The  separation  of  the  "  poor"  and  "very  poor"  m  the  Seventh  Ward  is 
somewhat  arbitrary.  I  have  called  all  those  receiving  $150  and  lew  a 
year  "  very  poor." 

'Only  a  few  reliable  budgets  are  subjoiDed,  and  ttiey  are  typical.  A 
large  number  might  have  been  gathered,  but  they  would  hardly  h«Te 
added  much  to  these. 


Sect.  28.]  Incomes.  173 

portion  do  not  usually  go  to  church.  Those  of  this  class 
who  are  poor  but  decent  are  next-door  neighbors  usually 
to  pronounced  criminals  and  prostitutes.  The  income  and 
expenditure  of  some  of  these  families  follow. 

Family  No.  i  lives  in  one  of  the  worst  streets  of  the 
ward,  surrounded  by  thieves  and  prostitutes.  There  are 
three  persons  in  the  family:  a  woman  of  thirty-four,  with 
a  son  of  sixteen  and  a  second  husband  of  twenty-^ix.  Both 
the  husband  and  son  are  out  of  work,  the  former  being  a 
waiter  and  the  latter  a  bootblack.  They  live  in  one  filthy 
room,  twelve  feet  by  fourteen,  scantily  furnished  and 
poorly  ventilated.  The  woman  works  at  service  and 
receives  about  three  dollars  a  week.  They  pay  twelve  dol- 
lars a  month  for  three  rooms,  and  sub-rent  two  of  them  to 
other  families,  which  makes  their  rent  about  three  dollars. 

Their  food  costs  them  about  $1.00  a  week  and  the  fuel 
56  cents  a  week  during  the  winter.  Their  expenditure  for 
other  items  is  varying  and  indefinite ;  beer,  however, 
comes  in  for  something.  Their  whole  expenditure  is 
probably  $125-$! 50  a  year,  of  which  the  woman  earns  at 
least  $100. 

Family  No.  2  has  a  yearly  budget  as  follows  for  two 
persons : 

Rent,  @  ^  a  month $48  00 

Pood — Bread,  pork,  tea,  etc.,  @  |i.44a  week    ...      74  88 
Fuel,  ao-47  cents  a  week 16  60 

I139  48 

Other  items  would  bring  this  up  to  about  $150  to  $175. 
Family  No.  3,  consisting  of  one  person,  reports  the  fol- 
lowing budget,  not  including  rent : 

Pood I30  00 

Pad 15  00 

Clothing 10  00 

Amusements i  50 

Sickness,  etc 10  00 

Other  pnrpoaes 15  00 

Total,  per  year |8i  50 


174  7%^  Negro  Family.  [Chap.  XL 

The  rent  of  such  a  family  would  not  exceed  $40,  mak- 
ing the  total  expenditure  about  $121.50. 

Family  No.  4 — four  persons — man  and  wife  and  two 
babies,  living  in  one  room,  spend  as  follows  : 

Rent,  @  I3  a  month I36  00 

Food— Weekly:  milk $0  28 

pork 70 

bread 35 

I  33    69  16 
Fuel,  20-98  cents  a  week 18  00 

I123  16 

The  man  has  work  one  and  one-half  weeks  in  the  month 
as  a  wire  fence  maker,  when  regularly  employed,  which  is 
about  half  the  time.  The  rest  of  the  time  he  takes  care 
of  the  babies  while  his  wife  works  at  service.  The  last  two 
families  seem  respectable,  but  unfortunate.  The  other  two 
are  doubtful. 

The  "  poor  "  are  a  degree  above  these  cases ;  they  are 
composed  of  the  ineflBcient,  unfortunate  and  improvident, 
and  just  manage  to  get  enough  to  eat,  a  little  to  wear,  and 
shelter.  A  specimen  family  is  composed  of  six  persons — 
man  and  wife,  a  widowed  daughter,  two  grandsons  of 
thirteen  and  eleven,  and  a  nephew  of  twenty-eight.  They 
live  in  three  rooms,  with  poor  furniture  and  of  fair  clean- 
liness. The  father  and  nephew  are  laborers,  often  out  of 
work.  The  mother  does  day's  work  and  the  daughter  is  at 
service.     They  spend  for : 

Rent — 18  per  month |  96  00 

Food — ^|2.i6  a  week 112  32 

Fuel— 50-84  cents  a  week  ....•• 31  20 

I239  52 

Clothing,  etc.,  will  bring  this  total  to  $250  $275.  This 
is  an  honest  family,  belonging  to  one  of  the  large  Baptist 
churches. 


Sect  28.]  Incomes.  175 

Family  No.  5,  a  mother  and  child,  expends  for 

Food I9600 

Fud 30  00 

Clothing 30  00 

Amusements 10  00 

Sickness 15  00 

Other  purposes 25  00 

Total |2o6  00 

To  this  must  be  added  house-rent,  bringing  the  total  to 
$250  or  $275. 

We  next  come  to  the  great  hard-working  laboring  class 
— ^the  47  per  cent  of  the  population  which  is,  on  the  whole, 
most  truly  representative  of  the  mass.  They  live  in  houses 
with  three  to  six  rooms,  nearly  always  well  furnished ; 
they  spend  considerable  for  food  and  dress,  and  for  churches 
and  beneficial  societies.  They  are  honest  and  good-natured 
for  the  most  part,  but  are  not  used  to  large  responsibility. 

No.  6,  a  family  of  three  from  this  class — man,  wife  and 
seventeen-year-old  son — earn  and  spend  as  follows  : 


Income. 

Man — hod-carrier  and  la- 
borer, I1.25-I2.00  a  day — 
casual — averages  I3.00  a 
week I150  00 

Wife — washerwoman,  Oct. 
to  Mch.,  earns  I5.00  to 
^.00  a  week,  rest  of  year 
|i.50-$2.oo,average,  I3.50, 180  oo 

Son — ^porter  in  office  build- 
ing, I2.50  per  week  and 
board  6  days 125  00 

$455  00 


Expense. 

Rent,  I22.00  a  month,  of 
which  I14.00  is  repaid  by 
lodgers — net  rent,  fS.oo    I96  00 

Food— |3.5o-$4.oo  a  week    190^00 

Fuel 35  00 

I321  00 

Clothing  and  all  other  pur- 
poses, and  savings  ...    134  00 


$455  00 


This  family  occupies  a  seven-room  house,  but  rents  out 
three  of  the  rooms  to  lodgers.  They  have  a  nicely  fur- 
nished parlor. 


176 


The  Negro  Family. 


[Chap.  XL 


Three  other  families  of  the  same  class  follow : 
No.  7.  Expenditure  for  one   year,  $338  (not  including 
rent).     Number  in  family,  adults  2,  chidren  2. 

Food |iio  00 

Fael 40  00 

Clothing 50  00 

Amusements 35  00 

Sickness 40  00 

Other  purposes 63  00 

No.  8.   BXPBNDITURB  FOR  OnB  YSAR,  |S20.00. 

Number  in  Family^  Adults  j,  Children  2, 


Bxpenditure  for 

• 

1 

5 

1 

• 

Bxpenditure  for 

• 

1 

1 

■ 

XL 

Rent 

^6  00 
16  00 

I193  00 
X93  00 

34  00 
00  00 

Amutements    .  . 

|a  0 

Pood 

Uoo 

Sickness  and  d*th 
All  other  purposes 

10  00 

Fuel 

jo  00 

ClothinK  .... 

No.  9.  BXPBNDITURB  FOR  OnB  YBAR,  AbOXTT  |6oo  OO. 

Number  in  Family ^  Adults  ^,  Children  7. 


Expenditure  for 


Rent 
Food 
Fuel 


H  00 

I  50 


a 
o 


$20  00 
6  00 


$700  00 

240  00 
72  00 


Expenditure  for 


Clothing 

All  other  purposes 


• 

• 

>« 

»* 

Xi 

.M 

♦« 

V 

a 

it 

0 

^ 

S 

500 

8 


60  00 
I28  00 


Three  other  budgets  are  appended,  representing  a  still 
better  class : 

No.  10. 

Total  income,  I840.00. 

Rent I192  00 

Food 260  00 

Fuel 50  00 

Clothing 25  00 

Amusements 15  00 


I542  00 

This  is  a  small  family — mother  and  daughter — who  are 
evidently  saving  money.     The  daughter  is  a  teacher. 


_  / 

Sect.  28.]  Incomes,  177 

No.  II.  Total  expenditure,  exclusive  of  rent,  $683. 
Food I378  00 

Fuel 45  00 

Clothing 100  00 

Amusements 20  00 

Sickness 50  00 

Other  purposes 90  00 

There  are  four  adults  and  three  children  in  this  family. 
No.  12.  Total  expenditure,  exclusive  of  rent,  $805. 

Food ^20  00 

Fuel 60  00 

Clothing 150  00 

Amusements ^  oo 

Sickness 5  00 

Travel,  and  other  purposes 150  00 

This  is  one  of  the  best  families  in  the  city;  they  keep 
one  servant.  There  are  three  adults  and  two  children  in 
the  family. 

The  class  to  which  these  last  families  belong,  is  often 
lost  sight  of  in  discussing  the  Negro.  It  is  the  germ  of  a 
great  middle  class,  but  in  general  its  members  are  curiously 
hampered  by  the  fact  that,  being  shut  oflf  from  the  world 
about  them,  they  are  the  aristocracy  of  their  own  people, 
with  all  the  responsibilities  of  an  aristocracy,  and  yet  they, 
on  the  one  hand,  are  not  prepared  for  this  rdle,  and  their 
own  masses  are  not  used  to  looking  to  them  for  leadership. 
As  a  class  they  feel  strongly  the  centrifugal  forces  of  class 
repulsion  among  their  own  people,  and,  indeed,  are  com- 
pelled to  feel  it  in  sheer  self-defence.  They  do  not  relish 
being  mistaken  for  servants  ;  they  shrink  from  the  free  and 
easy  worship  of  most  of  the  Negro  churches,  and  they 
shrink  from  all  such  display  and  publicity  as  will  expose 
them  to  the  veiled  insult  and  depreciation  which  the 
masses  suffer.  Consequently  this  class,  which  ought  to 
lead,  refuses  to  head  any  race  movement  on  the  plea  that 
thus  they  draw  the  very  color  line  against  which  they 
protest.  On  the  other  hand  their  ability  to  stand 
12 


178  Tke  Negro  Family.  [Chap.  XL 

apart,  refusing  on  the  one  hand  all  responsibility  for  the 
masses  of  the  Negroes  and  on  the  other  hand  seeking  no 
recognition  from  the  outside  world,  which  is  not  willingly 
accorded — their  opportunity  to  take  such  a  stand  is  hin- 
dered by  their  small  economic  resources.  Even  more  than 
the  rest  of  the  race  they  feel  the  difficulty  of  getting  on  in 
the  world  by  reason  of  their  small  opportunities  for  remu- 
nerative and  respectable  work.  On  the  other  hand  their 
position  as  the  richest  of  their  race — though  their  riches 
is  insignificant  compared  with  their  white  neighbors — 
makes  unusual  social  demands  upon  them.  A  white  Phila- 
delphian  with  $1500  a  year  can  call  himself  poor  and  live 
simply,  A  Negro  with  $1500  a  year  ranks  with  the  richest 
of  his  race  and  must  usually  spend  more  in  proportion  than 
his  white  neighbor  in  rent,  dress  and  entertainment. 

In  every  class  thus  reviewed  there  comes  to  the  front  a 
central  problem  of  expenditure.  Probably  few  poor 
nations  waste  more  money  by  thoughtless  and  unreason- 
able expenditure  than  the  American  Negro,  and  especially 
those  living  in  large  cities  like  Philadelphia.  First,  they 
waste  much  money  in  poor  food  and  in  unhealthful  methods 
of  cooking.  The  meat  bill  of  the  average  Negro  family 
would  surprise  a  French  or  German  peasant  or  even  an 
Englishman.  The  crowds  that  line  Lombard  street  on 
Sundays  are  dressed  far  beyond  their  means  ;  much  money 
is  wasted  in  extravagantly  furnished  parlors,  dining-rooms, 
guest  chambers  and  other  visible  parts  of  the  homes. 
Thousands  of  dollars  are  annually  wasted  in  excessive 
rents,  in  do,ubtful  "  societies  "  of  all  kinds  and  descriptions, 
in  amusements  of  various  kinds,  and  in  miscellaneous 
ornaments  and  gewgaws.  All  this  is  a  natural  heritage  of 
a  slave  system,  but  it  is  not  the  less  a  matter  of  serious 
import  to  a  people  in  such  economic  stress  as  Negroes  now 
are.  The  Negro  has  much  to  learn  of  the  Jew  and  Italian, 
as  to  living  within  his  means  aud  saving  every  penny  from 
excessive  and  wasteful  expenditures. 


Sect  39.]  Property.  179 

ag.  Property. — ^We  must  next  inquire  what  part  of  these 
incomes  have  been  turned  into  real  property.  Philadelphia 
keeps  no  separate  account  of  her  white  and  Negro  real 
estate  owners  and  it  is  very  diflScult  to  get  reliable  data  on 
the  subject.  Even  the  house-to-house  inquiry  could  but 
approximate  the  truth  on  account  of  the  number  of  houses 
owned  by  Negroes  but  rented  out  through  white  real  estate 
agents.  From  the  returns  it  appears  that  123  of  the  2441 
families  in  the  Seventh  Ward  or  5.3  per  cent  own  property 
in  that  ward;  seventy-four  other  families  own  property 
outside  the  ward,  making  in  all  197  or  8  per  cent  of  the 
families  who  are  property  holders.  It  is  possible  that 
omissions  may  raise  this  total  to  10  per  cent.  The  total 
value  of  this  property  is  partly  conjectural  but  a  careful 
estimate  would  place  it  at  about  $1,000,000,  or  4)^  per 
cent  of  the  valuation  of  a  ward  where  the  Negroes  form 
42  per  cent  of  the  population. 

Two  estimates  for  the  whole  city  represent  the  holdings 
of  the  well-to-do  Negroes,  that  is,  those  having  $10,000 
and  more  of  property,  as  follows  :  ^^ 

Prom  %  10,000  to  %  15,000 27 

"         15,000  to    25,000 10 

**  25,000  to      50,000 II 

"    50,000  to  100,000 4 

**   100,000  to  500,000 I 

53 

In  all,  these  persons  represent  an  ownership  of  at  least 
$1,500,000.  The  other  property  holders  can  only  be 
estimated  ;  the  total  ownership  of  property  by  JPhiladelphia 
Negroes   must   be  at    least   five  millions,   not   including 

^®  These  estimates  are  by  lifelong  residents  of  Philadelphia,  who  have 
had  nnnsual  opportunity  of  knowing  the  men  of  whom  they  speak.  One 
says,  *'  I  have  .  .  .  prepared  an  estimate  which  I  herein  enclose.  I 
have  endeavored  to  be  as  conservative  as  possible.  There  are,  doubtless, 
several  omitted  because  they  are  not  known,  or  if  known  are  not  now 
thought  of;  but  I  believe  the  estimate  is  approximately  correct" 


i8o  The  Negro  Family.  [Chap.  XI. 

church  property.     Comparing  this  with  estimates  in  the 
past,  we  have  : " 

1821,  real  estate/ assessed  value,  1112,464;  real  value,  $281, 162 

1832,    "        ••       "        "        357,000 

1838,    "        "       "        »•       322,532 

1848,    **        "       "        *'        531,809 

1855,  real  and  personal  estate '*        '*     2,685,693 

1898,    "      **  "  "       "        **     5,000,000 

In  1849  ^^  returns  of  the  investigation  showed  that  7.4 
per  cent  of  the  Negroes  in  the  county  owned  property, 
and  5.5  per  cent  in  the  city  proper,  compared  with  5.3  per 

^^  The  figures  for  1821  are  from  assessors'  reports,  quoted  in  the  investi- 
gation of  1838.  The  figures  for  1832  are  from  a  memorial  to  the  Legisla- 
ture, in  which  the  Negroes  say  that  by  reference  to  the  receipts  of  tax- 
payers which  were  "actually  produced,''  they  paid  at  least  {2500  in  taxes, 
and  had  also  f  100,000  in  church  property.  Prom  this  the  inquiry  of  1838 
estimates  that  they  owned  $357,000  outside  church  property.  The  same 
study  estimates  the  property  of  Negroes  in  1838  as  follows: 

Real  Bstate  (true  value).    Personal  Property. 

City 1241,962  1505,322 

Northern  Liberties 26,700  35,539 

Kensington 2,255  3*825 

Spring  Garden 5,935  21,570 

Southwark 15, 355  26,848 

Moyamensing 30.325  74.755 

1322,532  $667,859 

Encumbrances 12,906 

1309,626 

The  report  says:  **  This  amount  must,  of  course,  be  received  as  only  an 
approximation  of  the  truth."  Fifteen  church  edifices,  a  cemetery  and 
hall  are  not  included  in  the  above.     **  Condition,"  etc.,  1838.  pp.  7,  8. 

The  investigation  in  1847-48,  gave  the  following  results: 

Value  Real  Estate.       Bncumbrancea. 

City 1368,842  I78.421 

Spring  Garden 27,150  11,050 

Northern  Liberties 40,675  13.440 

Southwark 3^.544  5.9^5 

Moyamensing 51, 973  20,216 

West  Philadelphia 11.625  1,400 

1531,809  1130,442 


Sect  29.] 


Property. 


181 


cent  in  the  Seventh  Ward  to-day.  In  this  comparison, 
however,  we  must  consider  the  enoimoos  increase  in  the 
value  of  Philadelphia  real  estate. 


This  property  wu  distributed  as  foUowg: 


BBR  Hbad*  or 

OWKIU  OF 
Rkal  BSTATK. 

P««C«irt. 

aty 

2561 

1 

73 

141 

44 

30 

as 

Spring  Garden 

Northern  Ubertiea 

11.3 

West  Philadelphia 

34.4 

4a6a 

315 

7.4 

The  occapations  of  the  315  freeholders  was  as  fbllowi: 
781aboreia. 
49  traders. 
41  mechanics. 
35  coachmen  and  hackmen. 
38  waiters, 
ao  barbers. 
II  profeadonal  men. 
53  females. 

315 
The  peraonal  property  was  as  follows: 


i 

I 

1 

3 

1! 

1 

Under  Jas. 

66 

63 

taS'iSc 

77a 

79 

404 

^ 

63 

|ioo-$5oo. 

650 

19 

83 

291 

4» 

fcoo-fio,ooo. 

156 

No  Estate. 

$455,630 

15 

Total  perao- 

$9,562 

$34,044 

$30,402 

$90,553 

$12,065 

$633,246 

AveraRC. 

(178.63 

$47.3,1 

J 1 08.07 

$105.30 

(106.63 

$15 '-57 

$147-51 

Statistical  Inquiry,  etc.,  p.  15. 


1 83  The  Negro  Family.  [Chap.  XI. 

Taking  the  heads  of  the  123  families  known  to  live  in 
the  Seventh  Ward  and  to  own  real  estate  we  find  that  they 
were  bom  as  follows : 

Philadelphia 41  =  41  =  33>i  per  cent 

Pennsylvania 71 

Maryland 12 

Virginia 21 

Sonth 13 

Delaware  and  New  Jersey    ....  8 
Other  parts  of  United  States  and 

abroad 7 

Unknown 4 

123 


-  82  =  66  Ji  per  cent 


A  comparison  between  1838  and  1848  was  made  by  Needles'  "  Pro- 
gress/' etc.,  pp.  8,  9. 

1837.  1847.  Increaic. 

Real  estate,  less  incumbrances  .  $309,626  ^1,362  $9i»736 
House  and  water  rents  ....  161,482  200,697  39*225 
Taxes 3,253  6,308  3,056 

The  Inquiry  of  1856,  pp.  15,  16,  declares  that  the  previous  year  the 
Negroes  owned: 

Real  and  personal  property  (true  value) $2,685,693.00 

Taxes  paid 9,76642 

House,  water  and  ground  rent 396,782.27 

A  detailed  estimate  for  1897  gives  the  following: 

Value  of  Bstate.  Number  of  Bitatea.  Total. 

$250,000-^500,000 I       ..  =  ...  1350,000 

100,000 !...  =  ...  100,000 

80,000 !...  =  ...   80,000 

75,000 !...  =  ...   75,000 

60,000 I   ..  =  ...   60,000 

40,000 4  ...  =  ..  .  160,000 

35,000 3  .  .   = .  .  .  105,000 

30,000 4  ...  =  ..  .  120,000 

20,000 10  ...  =  ..  .  200,000 

15,000 II  ...  =  ..  .  165,000 

10,000 16  ...  =  ..  .  160,000 


52  11,575,000 

The  total  of  $1,575,000  is  the  estimated  wealth  of  the  well-to-do. 
This  estimate  is  as  reliable  as  can  be  obtained,  and  is  probably  not  far 
from  the  real  facts. 


Sect  39.] 


Property. 


183 


The  eighty-two  not  born  in  Philadelphia  have  lived  there 
as  follows : 

Over  2  and  under  10  years 5 

10  to  14  years 7 


15  to  19 
20  to  24 
25  to  29 
30  to  34 
35  to  39 
40  to  44 
45  to  49 
50  to  54 
60  years  and  over 


7 

14 
8 

8 

16 

4 
3 
3 
3 


Unknown 4 


82 


Nineteen  have  lived  less  than  twenty  years  in  the  city 
and  fifty-nine,  twenty  years  or  more. 

The  occupations  of  the  123  property  owners  were  as 
follows : 


Catexexs 22 

Waiters 12 

Porters  and  Janitors 10 

Housewives 9 

Laundresses 8 

Mechanics 7 

Coachmen 6 

Clerks  in  public  service  .  .  .   •  4 

Drivers  and  teamsters     ....  4 

Upholsterers 3 

Employment  agents 3 

Merchants  . 3 

Stewards 3 

Mimsters 3 

Hod-carriers  and  laborers  ...  2 

Policemen  and  watchmen     .  .  2 


Hotel  keepers  and     restaura- 
teurs         3 

Cooks 2 

Undertakers 2 

School-teachers > 

Barbers 2 

Physicians 

Shrouder  of  dead 

Newspaper  publisher 

Real  estate  dealer 

Sexton 

No  occupation 3 

Unknown 2 


123 


This  shows  that  the  real  estate  owners  are  either  Phila- 
delphia bom  or  old  residents  and  that  the  mass  of  them 
are  caterers  and  house-servants,  with  a  sprinkling  of  those 
representing  the  newer  employments  as  clerks  in  public 
service,  merchants,  and  the  like. 


184  The  Negro  Family.  [Chap.  XI. 

Of  these  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  families 

62  own  the  houses  they  occupy. 

20  own  the  houses  they  occupy,  and  also  other  real  estate  in 

the  city. 
7  own  the  houses  they  occupy,  own  other  real  estate  in  the 

city,  and  also  own  real  estate  elsewhere. 
5  own  homes  outside  the  city,  and  other  real  estate  else- 
where. 
22  own  real  estate  in  the  city. 
7  own  real  estate  in  the  city  and  elsewhere  also. 

In  other  words,  89  own  homes  in  the  city,  and  34  own 
real  estate  somewhere. 

Returns  from  forty  of  these  holders  indicate  a  total  hold- 
ing of  $250,000,  or  if  we  add  in  one  large  estate,  $650,000. 
Other  less  definite  but  fairly  reliable  returns  raise  the  total 
ownership  of  property  in  the  Seventh  Ward  to  $1,000,000 
or  more.  Sixty-three  of  the  seventy-four  owning  property 
outside  the  city  report  $49,010  in  real  estate."  In  none 
of  these  returns  has  there  been  any  account  of  the  mort- 
gage indebtedness  taken,  nor  is  there  any  means  of  ascer- 
taining this  debt.^^ 

On  the  whole  the  statistics  show  comparatively  few 
Negro  property  holders  in  Philadelphia.  In  a  city  where 
the  percentage  of  home  owners  is  unusually  large,  over  94 
per  cent  of  the  Negroes  appear  from  the  imperfect  returns 
available  to  be  renters.  There  are  several  reasons  for  this  : 
first,  the  Negroes  distrust  all  saving  institutions  since 
the  fatal  collapse  of  the  Freedmen's  Bank  ;  secondly,  they 
have  difficulty  in  buying  homes  in  decent  neighborhoods ; 
thirdly,  the  rising  price  of  real  estate,  and  the  falling  off"  of 
wage  and  industrial  opportunity  for  the  Negro  must  be 
taken   into  account.       Finally  a   curious  effect   of  color 


1'  There  is  more  property  than  this  owned,  but  only  the  answers  that 
seemed  reliable  and  definite  were  recorded.  Most  of  this  property  is  in 
the  country  districts  of  the  South. 

IS  Many  efforts  were  made  to  get  official  data  on  the  matter  of  property, 
but  the  authorities  had  no  way  of  even  approximately  distinguishing  the 
races. 


Sect  29.]  Property.  185 

prejudice,  to  be  discussed  later,  has  had  enormous  influence 
in  concentrating  Negro  population  in  localities  where  it  was 
hard  to  buy  homes.  All  these  are  cogent  reasons,  and  yet 
they  are  not  enough  to  excuse  the  Negroes  from  not  buying 
much  more  property  than  they  have.  Much  of  the  money 
that  should  have  gone  into  homes  has  gone  into  costly 
church  edifices,  dues  to  societies,  dress  and  entertainment. 
If  the  Negroes  had  bought  little  homes  as  persistently  as 
they  have  worked  to  develop  a  church  and  secret  society 
system,  and  had  invested  more  of  their  earnings  in  savings- 
banks  and  less  in  clothes  they  would  be  in  a  far  better 
condition  to  demand  industrial  opportunity  than  they  are 
to-day. 

This  does  not  mean  that  the  Negro  is  lazy  or  a  spend- 
thrift ;  it  simply  means  misdirected  energies  which  cause 
the  Negro  people  yearly  to  waste  thousands  of  dollars  in 
rents  and  live  in  poor  homes  when  they  might  with  proper 
foresight  do  much  better. 

There  are  some  signs  of  awakening  to  this  fact  among 
the  Negroes.  Lately  they  are  just  beginning  to  understand 
and  profit  by  the  Building  and  Loan  Associations.  Forty- 
one  families  in  the  Seventh  Ward,  or  about  2  per  cent, 
belong  now  to  such  associations  and  the  number  is  increas- 
ing. Outside  the  Seventh  Ward  as  large  and  probably  a 
larger  percentage  belong  to  co-operative  home  buying 
societies.  The  peculiar  phenomenon  among  the  colored 
people,  however,  is  the  wide  development  of  beneficial  and 
secret  orders.  Three  hundred  and  six  families,  or  17  per 
cent  of  the  Negroes  of  the  ward,  are  reported  as  belonging 
to  beneficial  societies  and  probably  25  per  cent  or  more 
actually  belong.  Beside  these  there  are  the  petty  insurance 
societies,  to  which  102 1  families  or  42  per  cent  belong. 
In  more  prosperous  times  this  membership  may  reach  50  or 
60  per  cent  or  a  total  of  at  least  4000  men,  women  and 
children.  The  beneficial  and  secret  societies,  being  organ- 
izations of  Negroes,  will  be  spoken  of  later.     The  petty 


i86 


The  Negro  Family. 


[Chap.  XL 


insurance  societies  are  for  the  most  part  conducted  by 
whites.  Some  of  these  are  reliable  enterprises,  and  by 
careful  management  and  honest  dealing  do  something  to 
encourage  the  saving  spirit  among  the  Negroes.  It  is 
doubtful,  however,  if  they  form  the  best  kind  of  incentive, 
and  probably  they  stand  in  the  way  of  the  savings-bank 
and  building  association.  Only  a  few  deserve  this  quali- 
fied approval.  The  large  majority  are  little  better  than 
licensed  gambling  operations  ;  it  is  a  disgrace  that  a  great 
municipality  allows  them  to  prey  upon  the  people  in  the 
manner  they  do."  They  usually  rest  on  no  sound  business 
principles ;  they  take  any  and  all  risks,  generally  without 
medical  examination  and  depend  on  lapses  in  payments 
and  bold  cheating  to  make  money.  Even  the  best  conducted 
of  these  societies  have  to  depend  on  the  unreturned  contribu- 
tions of  persons  who  cannot  keep  up  their  payments,  to 
make  both  ends  meet. 

There  were  in  1897  thirty-one  insurance  societies  doing 
business  in  the  Seventh  Ward.  The  following  table  gives 
the  weekly  premiums  required  for  sick  and  death  benefits 
in  one  society : 

Ratbs  and  Dsath  Bbnbfits. 
Weekly  Dues  for  Benefits  Payable  at  Death  only. 


Age. 


12-15 

15-25 
25-30 

30-35 
35-40 

40-45 
45-50 

50-53 
53-55 
55-58 
58-60 


|ioo 

laoo 

Benefit. 

Benefit. 

I0.04 

J0.07 

.05 

.09 

.06 

.11 

.07 

.13 

.08 

15 

.10 

.18 

.12 

23 

.14 

.26 

.15 

.28 

.18 

35 

.20 

•39 

i«  For  an  account  of  a  partial  investigation  of  this  subject  and  some 
attempts  at  reform,  see  *'  Report  of  Citizens'  Permanent  Relief  Committee, 
etc ,  1893-4,"  pp.  31,  ff.  Cf.  Also  the  work  of  the  Star  Kitchen  at  Seventh 
and  Lombard  streets,  Philadelphia. 


Sect  29.] 


Property. 


187 


This  is  at  the  rate  of  $46.80  to  $52  for  a  $1000  life 
policy  at  the  age  of  43,  which  can  be  had  in  regular  com- 
panies for  about  $35.  The  excess  represents  the  expense 
of  collection  and  the  gambler's  risk. 

SiCKNBSS  AND  ACCIDBNT  BBNBPITS. 

Weekly  Dues  for  Specified  Sums  per  Week, 


Age  next  BirthdAy. 


12-20 
20-25 
25-30 

30-35 
35-40 

40-43 
43-45 
45-48 
48-50 
50-53 
53-55 

55-58 
5^:60 


#4.00. 

I5.00. 

I6.00. 

$7.00. 

|8.oo. 

.10 

.13 

.16 

.19 

.22 

.11 

.14 

.17 

.20 

-23 

.12 

.15 

.18 

.21 

.24 

.14 

.17 

.20 

.23 

.26 

.15 

.18 

.2r 

.24 

.27 

.17 

.20 

•23 

.26 

.29 

.18 

.21 

.24 

.27 

.30 

.19 

.22 

.25 

.28 

.31 

.20 

.23 

.26 

.29 

.32 

.22 

•*§ 

.28 

.31 

.34 

.23 

.26 

.29 

.32 

.35 

.24 

.27 

.30 

.33 

.37 

.28 

.31 

.34 

.37 

.41 

$10.00. 

.25 
.26 

.27 
.29 
•30 
.32 
.33 
.34 
.35 
.37 

.38 

.41 
.44 


Children — ^Age,  2  to  11  years. 

Amount  payable  to  children  after  their  certificates  have  been  issued  for 
the  foUowing  periods: 

Three  months,  one-third;  six  months,  one-half;  nine  months,  three- 
fourths;  one  3rear,  full  amount. 

Death  benefits,  I40. 

Weekly  dues,  5  cents. 

Upon  payment  of  10  cents  weekly  dues,  children  from  six  to  eleven 
years  will  be  paid  weekly  sick  benefits  of  $2.50. 

Membership  fee  for  children,  50  cents. 

Membership  fee  for  adults,  |i. 

Into  these  companies  a  large  part  of  the  income  of  many 
families  goes.  For  instance,  let  us  examine  the  expendi- 
tures of  certain  actual  families  for  such  insurance,  remem- 
bering that  the  total  income  of  these  families  is  in  most 
cases  $20  to  $40  a  month. 

Monthly. 

1.  A  family  of  2  adults  and  2  children  (stevedore)  .   .  |3  29 

2.  A  family  of  2  adults  have  for  10  years  paid  ....    i  00 

3.  A  family  of  4  adults 2  20 

4.  A  fiunily  of  4  adults 2  40 

5.  A  fiunily  of  i  adult  and  i  child 2  00 

6.  A  fiunUy  of  4  adults i  84 


1 88  The  Negro  Family.  [Chap.  XI. 

Monthly. 

7.  A  &mily  of  i  adult |2  57 

8.  A  family  of  3  adults  (waiter) 2  20 

9.  A  family  of  2  adults  (servant) i  50 

10.  A  &mily  of  5  adults  and  2  children  (laborer)  ...  3  00 

11.  A  &mily  of  2  adults  and  3  children  (stevedore)  .   .  i  44 

12.  A  family  of  9  adults  and  i  child 5  00 

13.  A  family  of  8  adults  and  4  children 4  20 

14.  A  family  of  9  adults 4  43 

15.  A  family  of  2  adults 2  50 

16.  A  family  of  2  adults  (stevedore) 3  00 

17.  A  &mily  of  2  adults  (stevedore) 3  00 

18.  A  family  of  10  adults 8  50 

19.  A  family  of  2  adults,  i  child  (stevedore)  .   .       .  5  00 

20.  A  &mily  of  5  adults,  i  child 5  00 

21.  A  family  of  3  adults 3  90 

22.  A  family  of  4  adults,  i  child  (laborer) 5  00 

23.  A  &mily  of  2  adults,  3  children  (waiter) 4  60 

It  is  impossible  to  get  accurate  returns  as  to  the  total 
amount  spent  by  the  Negroes  of  the  Seventh  Ward  for  in- 
surance in  such  societies,  but  answers  to  questions  on  this 
point  indicate  a  total  expenditure  of  approximately  $25,000 
annually.  For  this  enormous  outlay  something  comes 
back  in  the  benefits,  but  probably  much  less  than  half. 
The  method  of  conducting  these  societies  puts  a  premium 
on  dishonesty  and  misrepresentation  and  a  tax  on  honesty 
and  health.  A  certain  class  of  the  insured  get  sick  regu- 
larly and  draw  benefits  and  are  winked  at  by  the  societies 
as  a  paying  advertisement  on  the  street  Their  honest 
neighbors  on  the  other  hand  will  struggle  on  and  work  for 
years,  paying  regularly — in  some  cases  five,  ten  and  fifteen 
or  more  years  in  various  societies— only  to  be  cheated  out 
of  their  insurance  by  rascally  agents,  or  conniving  home 
offices,  or  their  own  failure  at  the  last  moment  to  keep  up 
payments.  Of  course  the  sum  involved  is  too  small,  and 
the  cheated  persons  too  unknown  and  lowly  to  lead  to  liti- 
gation.    Let  us  take  some  examples  :"* 


^^  Once  in  a  while  the  affairs  of  one  of  these  companies  are  revealed  to 
the  public,  as  for  instance,  the  following  noted  in  the  Public  Ledger ^ 


Sect  29.]  Property.  189 

1.  This  family  lost  $100  paid  in  for  insurance,  by  final 
lapse  in  payments.  The  woman  was  sixty  years  old,  and 
poor. 

2.  This  family  belonged  to  the society  ten  years 

and  paid  $12  a  year.  Finally  fell  seven  days  in  arrears 
with  payments,  and  was  dropped.  Had  received  $65  in 
benefits. 

3.  This  family  had  paid  in  $50 ;  was  one  day  behind  and 
was  dropped. 

4.  This  family  had  a  woman  insured  for  $2.50  a  week, 
and  $50  at  death.     She  received  no  sick  benefits  at  all, 


October  20,  1896.  The  company  became  bankrupt,  and  its  affiiirs  were 
found  hopelessly  involved. 

''  This  was  the  scheme,  according  to  the  former  agent  and  some  of  the 
certificate  holders.  Upon  the  payment  of  ten  cents  a  week  for  seven 
years,  the  subscriber  was  promised  |ioo,  to  be  paid  at  the  end  of  the 
seventh  year.  In  a  year  ten  cents  a  week  would  amount  to  $5.20;  in 
seven  years  to  I36.40.  The  Keystone  Investment  Company  promised  to 
give  |ioo  for  I36.40. 

* '  Later  the  assessment  was  raised  to  fifteen  cents  a  week.  This  would 
amount  in  seven  years  to  {54.60,  for  which  sum  f  100  was  promised  in 
return.  Some  few  of  the  certificate  holders  paid  twenty  cents  a  week,  it 
is  said.  This,  in  seven  years,  would  amount  to  {72.80,  for  which  sum, 
according  to  the  agreement,  the  certificate  holder  was  to  be  paid  |ioo. 

"  Just  how  many  subscribers  the  company  had  it  is  impossible  to  learn 
from  the  officers.  A  gentleman,  who  has  a  store  next  door  to  the  com- 
pany's office,  said  yesterday  that  a  great  many  people  went  there  each 
week  to  pay  their  assessments.  They  appeared  to  be  poor  people,  he 
said.  There  were  a  great  many  Negroes  among  them,  and  some  of  them, 
he  said,  came  from  New  Jersey. 

*'  The  concern  started  in  business  in  1891,  and  has  always  occupied  its 
present  quarters,  which  are  very  unpretentious,  by  the  way,  for  a  financial 
company  of  any  standing.  A  lady  residing  on  Girard  avenue,  east  of 
Hanover  street,  yesterday  related  her  experience  with  the  company  as 
follows: 

*' '  I  invested  in  certificates  for  my  mother  and  my  little  daughter, 
paying  fifteen  cents  a  week  on  each.  The  agreement  was  that  each  was 
to  receive  {100  at  the  end  of  seven  years.  I  have  been  paying  for  my 
little  girl  nearly  three  years,  and  for  my  mother  nearly  two  years.  It 
will  be  two  years  next  Christmas.  The  payments  were  made  regu- 
larly.   On  both  certificates  I  have  paid  in  about  {35.'  " 


190  The  Negro  Family,  [Chap.  XI. 

and  only  $20  at  death.  They  said  :  "  We  stint  ourselves 
of  our  victuals  to  beep  up  and  then  lose  it  all." 

5.  A  family  who  put  $75  into  a  society  and  lost  it  all. 

6.  A  mother  was  in  the society  two  years.  When 

she  was  taken  sick,  she  sent  her  child  to  notify  them  ;  they 
took  no  notice  of  this  on  the  ground  that  the  notification 
by  a  child  was  not  legal,  and  paid  her  nothing. 

7.  This  man  was  a  member  of  the society  fifteen 

years,  and  his  wife  seven  years;  paid  in  $354  in  all  and 
drew  out  S90  in  benefits;  the  society  then  "discovered" 
that  the  man  belonged  to  the  G.  A.  R.,  and  dropped  him 
and  kept  the  money, 

8.  This  man  belonged  to  a  society  seven  years,  at  $1.30 
per  month  ;  received  $20  in  benefits  and  lost  the  rest 
through  a  lapse  in  payments. 

g.  This  family  belonged  to  different  societies  eight  years 
and  lost  all  the  money  invested. 

10.  This  person  was  a  member  of  a  society  some  time, 
when  the  collector  absconded  with  the  money,  and  the  so- 
ciety refused  to  bear  the  responsibility. 

1 1.  The  mother  had  paid  $54.60  to  a  society  for  a  death 
benefit,  but  at  her  death  the  society  paid  nothing. 

12.  The  society  collapsed  and  this  person  lost  $75. 

13.  This  family  invested  $1.23  a  month  with  a  society 
for  thirteen  years  in  order  to  receive  S200  endowment. 
This  was  at  the  rate  of  $73.80  annually  for  a  $1000  policy  ! 

14.  This  man  has  paid  in  $88  so  far,  and  has  never  re- 
ceived sick  or  other  benefits. 

15.  This  woman  had  belonged  to  a  society  for  years  and 
was  once  taken  sick  just  before  the  agent  called.  When 
he  came  he  was  asked  to  return,  as  the  sick  woman  was 
asleep.  He  did  not  return,  aud  when  a  claim  for  sick 
benefits  was  made,  it  was  denied  on  the  ground  that  the 
woman  had  not  paid  her  dues  when  the  agent  called. 

In  many  other  cases  the  matter  of  age  is  made  a  loop- 
hole for  cheating ;  numbers  of  the  Negroes  do  not  know 


Sect  29.]  Property.  191 

their  exact  ages ;  in  such  cases  the  insurance  agent  will 
suggest  an  age,  usually  below  the  evident  truth,  and  insert 
it  in  the  policy ;  if  the  insured  dies  the  physician  guesses 
at  another  age  nearer  the  truth,  and  inserts  it  in  the  death 
certificate.  Thereupon  the  insurance  company  points  to 
the  discrepancy,  alleges  an  attempt  to  deceive  on  the  part 
of  the  insured,  and  either  refuses  to  pay  any  of  the  policy 
or  generally  ofiFers  to  compound  for  a  half  or  a  third  of  the 
amount  promised.  This  is  perhaps  the  most  common  form 
of  cheating  outside  the  failure  to  account  for  the  payments 
of  lapsed  members.  In  some  cases  the  home  office  pays 
the  death  claim,  and  the  local  office  or  agent  cheats  the 
insured. 

Without  doubt  such  societies  meet  outrageous  attempts 
at  deception  on  the  part  of  the  insured  ;  and  yet  since  their 
methods  of  business  put  a  premium  on  this  sort  of  cheat- 
ing they  can  hardly  complain.  The  whole  business  is 
nothing  more  than  gambling,  where  one  set  of  sharpers  bet 
against  another  set,  and  the  honest  hard-working  but 
ignorant  toilers  pay  the  bill.^*  With  all  the  harm  that 
open  policy-playing  and  other  sorts  of  gambling  do,  it  is  to 
be  doubted  if  their  efiFects  on  character  are  more  deleterious 
than  this  form  of  insurance  business.  The  Negroes  by  the 
crime  of  the  Freedmen's  Bank  have  been  long  prejudiced 
against  banks,  and  this  business  encourages  their  aversion 
to  the  slow,  sure  methods  of  saving.  If  the  colored  people 
are  ever  to  learn  "  forehandedness,"  in  place  of  the  slip- 
shod chance  methods  of  living,  the  savings  bank  must 
soon  replace  the  insurance  society ;  and  that  they  could 
support  savings  banks  in  abundance  is  shown  by  the  fact 


*A8  before  noted,  I  am  aware  that  a  few  of  these  societies  do  not 
wboUy  deserve  this  sweeping  condemnation,  and  that  all  of  them  are 
defended  by  certain  short-sighted  persons  as  encouraging  savings.  My 
observation  convinces  me,  however,  of  the  substantial  truth  of  my  con- 
clusions. Of  course,  all  this  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  legitimate  life 
insurance  business. 


r9a  The  Negro  Family.  [Chap.  XI. 

that  they  annually  invest  between  $75,000  and  $100,000 
in  insurance  societies  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

It  is  not  generally  known  how  lucrative  a  business  the 
exploitation  of  the  Negro  in  various  lines  has  become.  In 
ornaments,  clothes,  entertainments,  books  and  investment 
schemes,  the  shrewd  and  nnscnipulons  have  a  broad  field 
of  work,  and  it  is  being  iudustriousty  cultivated,  especially 
by  whites  and  to  some  extent  by  certain  classes  of  Negroes. 
Instead  then  of  a  struggling  people  being  met  by  aid  in 
the  direction  of  tlieir  greatest  weakness,  they  are  sur- 
rounded by  agencies  which  tend  to  make  them  more 
wasteful  and  dependent  on  chance  than  they  are  now. 
One  has  only  to  watch  the  pawn-brokers'  shops  on  Satur- 
day night  in  winter  to  see  how  largely  Negroes  support 
them  ;  and  it  is  but  a  step  from  the  insurance  society  to 
the  pawnshop  and  thence  to  the  policy  shop, 

30.  Family  Life. — Among  the  masses  of  the  Negro 
people  in  America  the  Monogamic  Home  is  comparatively 
a  new  institution,  not  more  than  two  or  three  generations 
old.  The  Africans  were  taken  from  polygamy  and  trans- 
planted into  a  plantation  where  the  home  life  was  pro- 
tected only  by  the  caprice  of  the  master,  and  practically 
unregulated  polygamy  and  polyandry  was  the  result,  on  the 
plantations  of  the  West  Indies.  In  States  like  Pennsyl- 
vania the  marriage  institution  among  slaves  was  early 
established  and  maintained.  Consequently  one  meets 
among  the  Philadelphia  Negroes  the  result  of  both 
systems — the  looseness  of  plantation  life  and  the  strictness 
of  Quaker  teaching.  Among  the  lowest  class  of  recent 
immigrants  and  other  unfortunates  there  is  much  sexual 
promiscuity  and  the  absence  of  a  real  home  life.  Actual 
prostitution  for  gain  is  not  as  widespread  as  would  at  first 
thought  seem  natural.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  two 
widespread  systems  among  the  lowest  classes,  viz.,  tem- 
pomry  cohabitation  and  the  support  of  men.  Cohabitation 
of  a  more  or  less  permanent  character  is  a  direct  offshoot 


Sect.  30.]  Family  Life.  193 

of  the  plantation  life  and  is  practiced  considerably  ;  in 
distinctly  slum  districts,  like  that  at  Seventh  and  lyom- 
bard,  from  10  to  25  per  cent  of  the  unions  are  of  this 
nature.  Some  of  them  are  simply  common-law  marriages 
and  are  practically  never  broken.  Others  are  compacts, 
which  last  for  two  to  ten  years  ;  others  for  some  months ; 
in  most  of  these  cases  the  women  are  not  prostitutes,  but 
rather  ignorant  and  loose.  In  such  cases  there  is,  of  course, 
little  home  life,  rather  a  sort  of  neighborhood  life,  center- 
ing in  the  alleys  and  on  the  sidewalks,  where  the  children 
are  educated.  Of  the  great  mass  of  Negroes  this  class 
forms  a  very  small  percentage  and  is  absolutely  with- 
out social  standing.  They  are  the  dregs  which  indicate 
the  former  history  and  the  dangerous  tendencies  of  the 
masses.  The  system  of  supporting  men  is  one  common 
among  the  prostitutes  of  all  countries,  and  widespread 
among  the  Negro  women  of  the  town.  Two  little  colored 
girls  walking  along  South  street  stopped  before  a  gaudy 
pair  of  men's  shoes  displayed  in  a  shop  window,  and  one 
said :  "  That's  the  kind  of  shoes  I'd  buy  my  fellow !  "  The 
remark  fixed  their  life  history  ;  they  were  from  among  the 
prostitutes  of  Middle  Alley,  or  RatcliflFe  street,  or  some 
similar  resort,  where  each  woman  supports  some  man  from 
the  results  of  her  gains.  The  majority  of  the  well-dressed 
loafers  whom  one  sees  on  Locust  street  near  Ninth,  on  Lom- 
bard near  Seventh  and  Seventeenth,  on  Twelfth  near  Kater, 
and  in  other  such  localities,  are  supported  by  prostitutes  and 
political  largesse,  and  spend  their  time  in  gambling.  They 
are  absolutely  without  home  life,  and  form  the  most  dan- 
gerous class  in  the  community,  both  for  crime  and  political 
corruption. 

Leaving  the  slums  and  coming  to  the  great  mass  of  the 
Negro  population  we  see  undoubted  effort  has  been  made 
to  establish  homes.  Two  great  hindrances,  however,  cause 
much  mischief:  the  low  wages  of  men  and  the  high  rents* 
The  low  wages  of  men  make  it  necessary  for  mothers  to 

13 


ig4  7"Ae  Negro  Family.  [Chap.  XI. 

work  and  in  numbers  of  cases  to  work  away  from  liome  sev- 
eral days  in  the  week.  This  leaves  the  children  without 
guidance  or  restraint  for  the  better  part  of  the  day — a  thing 
disastrous  to  manners  and  morals.  To  this  must  be  added 
the  result  of  high  rents,  namely,  the  lodgingsystem.  Who- 
ever wishes  to  live  in  the  centre  of  Negro  population,  near 
the  great  churches  and  near  work,  must  pay  high  rent 
for  a  decent  house.  This  rent  the  average  Negro  family 
cannot  afford,  aud  to  get  the  house  they  sub-rent  a  part  to 
lodgers.  As  a  a  consequence,  38  per  cent  of  the  homes  of 
the  Seventh  Ward  have  unknown  strangers  admitted  freely 
into  their  doors.  The  result  is,  on  the  whole,  pernicious, 
especially  where  there  are  growing  children.  Moreover, 
the  tiny  Philadelphia  houses  are  ill  suited  to  a  lodging 
system.  The  lodgers  are  often  waiters,  who  are  at  home 
between  meals,  at  the  very  hours  when  the  housewife  is  off 
at  work,  and  growing  daughters  are  thus  left  unprotected. 
In  some  cases,  though  this  is  less  often,  servant  girls  and 
other  female  lodgers  are  taken.  In  such  ways  the  privacy 
and  intimacy  of  home  \\i^  is.  destroyed,  and  elements  of 
danger  and  demoralization  admitted.  Many  families  see 
this  and  refuse  to  take  lodgers,  and  move  where  they  can 
afford  the  rent  without  help.  This  involves  more  depriva- 
tions to  a  socially  ostracized  race  like  the  Negro  than  to 
whites,  since  it  often  means  hostile  neighbors  or  no  social 
intercourse.  If  a  number  of  Negroes  settle  together,  the 
real  estate  agents  dump  undesirable  elements  among  them, 
which  some  enthusiastic  association  has  driven  from  the 
slums. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  waiters,  porters  and  ser- 
vant girls  in  the  city  who  naturally  have  no  home  life  and 
are  exposed  to  peculiar  temptations.  The  church  is  the 
rallying  place  of  the  best  class  of  these  young  people,  and 
it  attempts  to  furnish  their  amusements.  Loafing  and 
promenading  the  streets  is  the  only  other  entertainment 
most  of  these   young  folks  have.     They  form   a  serious 


Sect  30.]  Family  Life.  195 

problem,  to  which  the  lodging  system  is  the  only  attempted 
answer,  and  that  a  dangerous  one.  Homes  and  clubs 
properly  conducted  ought  to  be  opened  for  them.  A 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  which  would  not 
degenerate  into  an  endless  prayer  meeting  might  meet  the 
wants  of  the  young  men. 

The  home  life  of  the  middle  laboring  class  lacks  many 
of  the  pleasant  features  of  good  homes.  Traces  of  plan- 
tation customs  still  persist,  and  there  is  a  widespread  cus- 
tom of  seeking  amusement  outside  the  home ;  thus  the 
home  becomes  a  place  for  a  hurried  meal  now  and  then, 
and  lodging.  Only  on  Sundays  does  the  general  gathering 
in  the  front  room,  the  visits  and  leisurely  dinner  smack  of 
proper  home  life.  Nevertheless,  the  spirit  of  home  life  is 
steadily  growing.  Nearly  all  the  housewives  deplore  the 
lodging  system  and  the  work  that  keeps  them  away  from 
home;  and  there  is  a  widespread  desire  to  remedy  these 
evils  and  the  other  evil  which  is  akin  to  them,  the  allow- 
ing of  children  and  young  women  to  be  out  unattended  at 
night 

In  the  better  class  families  there  is  a  pleasant  family  life 
of  distinctly  Quaker  characteristics.  One  can  go  into  such 
homes  in  the  Seventh  Ward  and  find  all  the  quiet  comfort 
and  simple  good-hearted  fare  that  one  would  expect  among 
well-bred  people.  In  some  cases  the  homes  are  lavishly 
fiirnished,  in  others  they  are  homely  and  old-fashioned. 
Even  in  the  best  homes,  however,  there  is  easily  detected 
a  tendency  to  let  the  communal  church  and  society  life 
trespass  upon  the  home.  There  are  fewer  strictly  family  ' 
gatherings  than  would  be  desirable,  fewer  simple  neighbor- 
hood gatherings  and  visits ;  in  their  place  are  the  church 
teas,  the  hall  concerts,  or  the  elaborate  parties  given  by  the 
richer  and  more  ostentatious.  These  things  are  of  no  par- 
ticular moment  to  the  circle  of  families  involved,  but  they 
set  an  example  to  the  masses  which  may  be  misleading. 
The  mass  of  the  Negro  people  must  be  taught  sacredly  to 


196  The  Negro  Family.  [Chap,  XL 

guard  the  home,  to  make  it  the  centre  of  social  life  and 
moral  guardianship.  This  it  is  largely  among  the  best 
class  of  Negroes,  but  it  might  be  made  even  more  con- 
spicuously so  than  it  is.  Such  emphasis  undoubtedly 
means  the  decreased  influence  of  the  Negro  church,  and 
that  is  a  desirable  thing. 

On  the  whole,  the  Negro  has  few  family  festivals ;  birth- 
days are  not  often  noticed,  Christmas  is  a  time  of  church 
and  general  entertainments.  Thanksgiving  is  coming  to  be 
widely  celebrated,  but  here  again  in  churches  as  much  as 
in  homes.  The  home  was  destroyed  by  slavery,  struggled 
up  after  emancipation  and  is  again  not  exactly  threatened, 
but  neglected  in  the  life  of  city  Negroes.  Herein  lies  food 
for  thought 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  ORGANIZED  LIFE  OF  NEGROES. 

31.  History  of  the  Negro  Church  in  Philadelphia. — 
We  have  already  followed  the  history  of  the  rise  of  the 
Free  African  Society,  which  was  the  beginning  of  the 
Negro  Church  in  the  North.^  We  often  forget  that  the 
rise  of  a  church  organization  among  Negroes  was  a  curious 
phenomenon.  The  church  really  represented  all  that  was 
left  of  African  tribal  life,  and  was  the  sole  expression  of 
the  organized  e£forts  of  the  slaves.  It  was  natural  that 
any  movement  among  freedmen  should  centre  about  their 
religious  life,  the  sole  remaining  element  of  their  former 
tribal  system.  Consequently  when,  led  by  two  strong  men, 
they  left  the  white  Methodist  Church,  they  were  naturally 
unable  to  form  any  democratic  moral  reform  association ; 
they  must  be  led  and  guided,  and  this  guidance  must  have 
the  religious  sanction  that  tribal  government  always  has. 
Consequently  Jones  and  Allen,  the  leaders  of  the  Free 
African  Society,  as  early  as  1791  began  regular  religious 
exercises,  and  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  there 
were  three  Negro  churches  in  the  city,  two  of  which  were 
independent.* 


» Cf.  Chapter  III. 

'  St.  Thomas,  Bethel  and  Zoar.  The  history  of  Zoar  is  of  interest.  It 
"extends  over  a  period  of  one  hundred  years,  being  as  it  is  an  ofifopring 
of  St.  George's  Church,  Fourth  and  Vine  streets,  the  first  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  to  be  established  in  this  country,  and  in  whose  edifice 
the  first  American  Conference  of  that  denomination  was  held.  Zoar 
Church  had  its  origin  in  1794,  when  members  of  St.  George's  Church 
established  a  mission  in  what  was  then  known  as  Campingtown,  now 
known  as  Fourth  and  Brown  streets,  at  which  place  its  first  chapel  was 
built    There  it  remained  until  1883,  when  economic  and  sociological 


r 


198  Organised  Life  of  Negroes.        [Chap.  XII. 

St.  Thomas'  Church  has  had  a  most  interesting  history. 
It  early  declared  its  purpose  "of  advancing  our  friends  in 
a  true  knowledge  of  God,  of  true  religion,  and  of  the  ways 
and  means  to  restore  'our  long  lost  race  to  the  dignity  of 
men  and  of  Christians."'  The  church  offered  itself  to  the 
Protestant  Bpiscopal  Church  and  was  accepted  on  condi- 
tion that  they  take  no  part  in  the  government  of  the  gen- 
eral church.  Their  leader,  Ahsalom  Jones,  was  ordained 
deacon  and  priest,  and  took  charge  of  the  church.  In  1804 
the  church  established  a  day  school  which  lasted  until 
1816,*  In  1849  St,  Thomas'  began  a  series  of  attempts 
to  gain  full  recognition  iu  the  Church  by  a  demand  for 
delegates  to  the  Church  gatherings.  The  Assembly  first 
declared  that  it  was  not  expedient  to  allow  Negroes  to 
take  part.  To  this  the  vestry  returned  a  dignified  answer, 
asserting  thai  "expediency  is  no  plea  against  the  violation 
of  the  great  principles  of  charity,  mercy,  justice  and 
truth."  Not  until  1864  was  the  Negro  body  received  into 
full  fellowship  with  the  Church.  In  the  century  and  more 
of  its  existence  St.  Thomas'  has  always  represented  a  high 
grade  of  intelligence,  and  to-day  it  still  represents  the  most 
cultured  and  wealthiest  of  the  Negro  population  and  the 
Philadelphia  bora  residents.     Its  membership  has  couse- 


canaes  made  necessary  the  selection  of  a  new  site.  The  city  had  grown, 
and  industries  of  a  character  in  which  the  Negroes  were  not  interested 
had  developed  in  the  neighborhood,  and,  as  the  colored  people  were 
rapidly  moving  to  a  difierent  section  of  the  city,  it  was  decided  that 
the  church  should  follow,  and  the  old  building  was  sold.  Through  the 
liberality  of  Colonel  Joseph  M.  Bennett  a  brick  building  was  erected  on 
Melon  street,  above  Twelfth. 

"  Since  then  the  congregation  has  steadily  increased  in  numbers,  until 
iu  Augtiat  0/  this  year  it  was  found  necessary  to  enlarge  the  edifice.  The 
comer-atone  of  the  new  front  was  laid  two  months  ago.  The  present 
membership  of  the  church  is  about  550." — Public  Ledger,  November  15, 
1B97- 

'See  Douglass'  "  Annals  of  St.  Thomas'." 

*  It  was  then  turned  into  a  private  school  and  supported  largely  by  an 
English  educational  fund. 


Sect  31.]        Negro  Church  in  Philcuielpkia.  199 

quently  always  been  small,  being  246  in  1794,  427  in  1795, 
105  in  i860,  and  391  in  1897.* 

The  growth  of  Bethel  Church,  founded  by  Richard 
Allen,  on  South  Sixth  Street,  has  been  so  phenomenal  that 
it  belongs  to  the  history  of  the  nation  rather  than  to  any 
one  city.  From  a  weekly  gathering  which  met  in  Allen's 
blacksmith  shop  on  Sixth  near  lyombard,  grew  a  large 
church  edifice ;  other  churches  were  formed  under  the  same 
general  plan,  and  Allen,  as  overseer  of  them,  finally  took  the 
title  of  bishop  and  ordained  other  bishops.  The  Church, 
under  the  name  of  African  Methodist  Episcopal,  grew  and 
spread  until  in  1890  the  organization  had  452,725  members, 
2481  churches  and  $6,468,280  worth  of  property.* 

By  1813''  there  were  in  Philadelphia  sixNegi'o  churches 
with  the  following  membership  :  * 

St.  Thomas',  P.  E 560 

Bethel,  A.  M.  E 1272 

Zoar,  M.  E 80 

Union,  A.  M.  E 74 

Baptist,  Race  and  Vine  Streets 80 

Presbyterian 300 

2366 

The  Presbyterian  Church  had  been  founded  by  two 
Negro  missionaries,  father  and  son,  named  Gloucester,  in 
i8o7.*  The  Baptist  Church  was  founded  in  1809.  ^^^ 
inquiry  of  1838  gives  these  statistics  of  churches  : 

*  St.  Thomas*  has  suffered  often  among  Negroes  from  the  opprobriam 
of  being  "aristocratic,**  and  is  to-day  by  no  means  a  popular  church 
among  the  masses.  Perhaps  there  is  some  justice  in  this  charge,  bat 
the  church  has  nevertheless  always  been  foremost  in  good  work  and 
has  many  public  spirited  Negroes  on  its  rolls. 

•  Cf.  U.  S.  Census,  Statistics  of  Churches,  1890. 

'  In  1809  the  leading  Negro  churches  formed  a  **  Society  for  Suppress- 
hig  Vice  and  Immorality,**  which  received  the  endorsement  of  Chief 
Justice  Tilghman,  Benjamin  Franklin,  Jacob  Rush,  and  others. 

•"Condition  of  Negroes,  1838,**  pp.  39-40. 

•Cf.  Robert  Jones*  "Fifty  years  in  Central  Church.**  John  Gloucester 
began  preaching  in  1807  at  Seventh  and  Bainbridge. 


200 


Organized  Life  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  XII, 


Denominatioii. 

No. 
Churches. 

Members. 

Annual 
Expenses. 

Value  of 
Property. 

Incuin* 
brance. 

Episcopalian   .... 

Lutheran 

Methodist 

Presb3rterian    .... 
Baptist 

I 
I 
8 

2 

4 

lOO 

lO 

2,86o 

325 
700 

$1,000 

120 

2,100 

1,500 

1,300 

136,000 

3,000 

50,800 

20,000 

4,200 

•  •       • 

|l,00O 

5,100 

1,000 

•  •       • 

Total 

i6 

3,995 

j6,020 

$114,000 

$7,100 

Three  more  churches  were  added  in  the  next  ten  years, 
and  then  a  reaction  followed.*®  By  1867  there  were  in  all 
probability  nearly  twenty  churches,  of  which  we  have 
statistics  of  seventeen :" 

Statistics  of  Nbgro  Chxtrchbs,  1867. 


Name. 


St.  Thomas' 
Methodist — 
Bethel .  .  . 
Union  .  .  . 
Wesley  .  . 
Zoar.    .   .   . 


John  Wesley  .... 

Little  Wesley    .   . 

Pisgah 

Zion  City  Mission    . 

Little  Union  .... 
Baptist— 

First  Baptist  .... 

Union  Baptist    •   .   . 

Shiloh 

Oak  Street 

Presbyterian — 

First  Presbyterian    . 

Second  Presbyterian 

Central  Presbjrterian 


Pounded. 

Number  of 
Members. 

Value  of 
Property. 

1792 

•       a 

•       •       • 

1794 
1827 

1817 
1794 

1,100 

467 
464 

400 

$50,000 
40,000 
21,000 
I2,OCO 

1844 

42 

3,000 

1821 
1831 
1858 

1837 

310 

116 

90 

200 

11,000 
4,600 
4,500 

•    •    • 

1809 

•       • 

1842 
1827 

360 

400 

405 
137 

5.000 

7,000 

16,000 

.     •    • 

1807 
1824 

1844 

200 

.    . 
240 

8,000 

•         •         • 

16,000 

Pastors' 
Salary. 


$600 

850 
700 

•       •       • 

No  regular 
salary. 

500 
430 


600 
600 

•    .    • 


Since  the  war  the  growth  of  Negro  churches  has  been 
by  bounds,  there  being  twenty-five  churches  and  missions 
in  1880,  and  fifty-five  in  1897. 


"In  1847  there  were  19  churches;  12  of  these  had  3974  members;  11 
of  the  edifices  cost  $67,000.     **  Statistical  Inquiry,**  1848,  pp.  29,  30. 

In  1854  there  were  19  churches  reported  and  1677  Sunday-school 
scholars.     Bacon,  1856. 

"  See  Inquiry  of  1867. 


Sect.  32.]        Function  0/  the  Negro  Church.  201 

So  phenomenal  a  growth  as  this  here  outlined  means 
more  than  the  establishment  of  many  places  of  worship. 
The  Negro  is,  to  be  sure,  a  religious  creature — ^most  primi- 
tive folk  are — ^but  his  rapid  and  even  extraordinary 
founding  of  churches  is  not  due  to  this  fact  alone,  but  is 
rather  a  measure  of  his  development,  an  indication  of  the 
increasing  intricacy  of  his  social  life  and  the  consequent 
multiplication  of  the  organ  which  is  the  function  of  his 
group  life — ^the  church.  To  understand  this  let  us  inquire 
into  the  function  of  the  Negro  church. 

32.  The  Function  of  the  Negro  Church. — The  Negro 
church  is  the  peculiar  and  characteristic  product  of  the 
transplanted  African,  and  deserves  especial  study.  As  a 
social  group  the  Negro  church  may  be  said  to  have  ante- 
dated the  Negro  family  on  American  soil ;  as  such  it  has 
preserved,  on  the  one  hand,  many  functions  of  tribal 
organization,  and  on  the  other  hand,  many  of  the  family 
functions.  Its  tribal  functions  are  shown  in  its  religious 
activity,  its  social  authority  and  general  guiding  and 
co-ordinating  work  ;  its  family  functions  are  shown  by  the 
fact  that  the  church  is  a  centre  of  social  life  and  inter- 
course ;  acts  as  newspaper  and  intelligence  bureau,  is  the 
centre  of  amusements— indeed,  is  the  world  in  which  the 
Negro  moves  and  acts.  So  far-reaching  are  these  functions 
of  the  church  that  its  organization  is  almost  political.  In 
Bethel  Church,  for  instance,  the  mother  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  America,  we  have  the  following 
officials  and  organizations  : 

Tlie  Bishop  of  the  District \ 

The  Presiding  Elder \  Executive. 

The  Pastor J 

The  Board  of  Trustees Executive  Council. 

General  Church  Meeting Legislative. 

The  Board  of  Stewards ^ 

The  Board  of  Stewardesses >  Financial  Board. 

The  Junior  Stewardesses j 

The  Sunday  School  Organization     .   .   .      Educational  System. 
Ladies*  Auxiliary,  Volunteer  Guild,  etc.     Tax  Collectors. 


303  Organised  Life  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  XII. 

tlBhers'  Association Police. 

Class  Leaders \ 

Local  Preachers |  Shenfi  and  Magistrates. 

Choir Music  and  Amusement. 

Allen  Guards Militia. 

Missionary  Societies Social  Reformers. 

Beneficial  and  Semi-Secret  Societies,  etc.     Corporations. 

Or  to  put  it  differently,  here  we  have  a  mayor,  appointed 
from  without,  with  great  administrative  and  legislative  pow- 
ers, although  well  limited  by  long  and  zealously  cherished 
custom ;  he  acts  conjointly  with  a  select  council,  the  trustees, 
a  board  of  finance,  composed  of  stewards  and  stewardesses, 
a  common  council  of  committees  and,  occasionally,  of  all 
church  members.  The  various  functions  of  the  church  are 
carried  out  by  societies  and  orgauizattons.  The  form  of 
government  varies,  but  is  generally  some  form  of  democracy 
closely  guarded  by  custom  and  tempered  by  possible  and 
not  infrequent  secession. 

The  functions  of  such  churches  in  order  of  present 
emphasis  are : 

1.  The  raising  of  the  annual  budget. 

2.  The  maintenance  of  membership. 

3.  Social  intercourse  and  amusements. 

4.  The  setting  of  moral  standards. 

5.  Promotion  of  general  intelligence. 

6.  Efforts  for  social  betterment. 

I.  The  annual  budget  is  of  first  importance,  because 
the  life  of  the  organization  depends  upon  it  The  amount 
of  expenditure  is  not  very  accurately  determined  before- 
hand, although  its  main  items  do  not  vary  much.  There 
is  the  pastor's  salary,  the  maintenance  of  the  building, 
light  and  heat,  the  wages  of  a  janitor,  contributions  to 
various  church  objects,  and  the  like,  to  which  must  be 
usually  added  the  interest  on  some  debt.  The  sum  thus 
required  varies  in  Philadelphia  from  $200  to  %^ogo.  A 
small  part  of  this  is  raised  by  a  direct  tax  on  each  mem- 
ber.    Besides   this,  voluntary  contributions  by  members 


Sect  3  a.]        Function  of  the  Negro  Church.  203 

roughly  gauged  according  to  ability,  are  expected,  and  a 
strong  public  opinion  usually  compels  payment  Another 
large  source  of  revenue  is  the  collection  after  the  ser- 
mons on  Sunday,  when,  amid  the  reading  of  notices  and 
a  subdued  hum  of  social  intercourse,  a  stream  of  givers 
walk  to  the  pulpit  and  place  in  the  hands  of  the  trustee  or 
steward  in  charge  a  contribution,  varying  from  a  cent  to  a 
dollar  or  more.  To  this  must  be  added  the  steady  revenue 
from  enteitainments,  suppers,  socials,  fairs,  and  the  like. 
In  this  way  the  Negro  churches  of  Philadelphia  raise 
nearly  $100,000  a  year.  They  hold  in  real  estate  $900,000 
worth  of  property,  and  are  thus  no  insignificant  element  in 
the  economics  of  the  city. 

2.  Extraordinary  methods  are  used  and  efforts  made  to 
maintain  and  increase  the  membership  of  the  various 
churches.  To  be  a  popular  church  with  large  membership 
means  ample  revenues,  large  social  influence  and  a  leader- 
ship among  the  colored  people  tmequaled  in  power  and 
effectiveness.  Consequently  people  are  attracted  to  the 
church  by  sermons,  by  music  and  by  entertainments ;  finally, 
every  year  a  revival  is  held,  at  which  considerable  numbers 
of  young  people  are  converted.  All  this  is  done  in  perfect 
sincerity  and  without  much  thought  of  merely  increasing 
membership,  and  yet  every  small  church  strives  to  be  large 
by  these  means  and  every  large  church  to  maintain  itself 
or  grow  larger.  The  churches  thus  vary  from  a  dozen  to 
a  thousand  members. 

3.  Without  wholly  conscious  effort  the  Negro  church 
has  become  a  centre  of  social  intercourse  to  a  degree 
unknown  in  white  churches  even  in  the  country.  The 
various  churches,  too,  represent  social  classes.  At  St 
Thomas'  one  looks  for  the  well-to-do  Philadelphians,  largely 
descendants  of  favorite  mulatto  house-servants,  and  conse- 
quently well-bred  and  educated,  but  rather  cold  and  reserved 
to  strangers  or  newcomers ;  at  Central  Presbyterian  one 
sees  the  older,  simpler  set  of  respectable  Philadelphians 


304  Organised  Ufe  of  Negroes.        [Chap,  XII. 

with  distinctly  Quaker  characteristics — pleasant  but  con- 
servative ;  at  Bethel  may  be  seen  the  best  of  tbe  great 
laboring  class — steady,  honest  "people,  wel!  dressed  and  well 
fed,  with  church  and  family  traditions  ;  at  Wesley  will  be 
found  the  new  arrivals,  the  sight-seers  and  the  strangers  to 
the  city — hearty  and  easygoing  people,  who  welcome  all 
comers  and  ask  few  questions  ;  at  Union  Baptist  one  may 
look  for  the  Virginia  servant  girls  and  their  young  men ; 
and  so  on  throughout  the  city.  Each  church  forms  its 
own  social  circle,  and  not  many  stray  beyond  its  bounds. 
Introductions  into  that  circle  come  through  the  church,  and 
thus  the  stranger  becomes  known.  All  sorts  of  entertain- 
ments and  amusements  are  furnished  by  the  churches : 
concerts,  suppers,  socials,  fairs,  literary  exercises  and  debates, 
cantatas,  plays,  excursions,  picnics,  surprise  parties,  cele- 
brations. Every  holiday  is  the  occasion  of  some  special 
entertainment  by  some  club,  society  or  committee  of  the 
church  ;  Thursday  afternoons  and  evenings,  when  the  ser- 
vant girls  are  free,  are  alwajs  sure  to  have  some  sort  of 
entertainment.  Sometimes  these  exercises  are  free,  some- 
times an  admission  fee  is  charged,  sometimes  refreshments 
or  articles  are  on  sale.  The  favorite  entertainment  is  a 
concert  with  solo  singing,  instntmental  music,  reciting,  and 
the  like.  Many  performers  make  a  living  by  appearingat 
these  entertainments  in  various  cities,  and  often  they  are 
persons  of  training  and  ability,  although  not  always.  So 
frequent  are  these  and  other  church  exercises  that  there  are 
few  Negro  churches  which  are  not  open  four  to  seven  nights 
in  a  week  and  sometimes  one  or  two  afternoons  in  addition. 
Perhaps  the  pleasantest  and  most  interesting  social 
intercourse  takes  place  on  Sunday  ;  the  weary  week's  work 
is  done,  the  people  have  slept  late  and  had  a  good  break- 
fast, and  sally  forth  to  church  well  dressed  and  complacent. 
The  usual  hour  of  the  morning  service  is  eleven,  but 
people  stream  in  until  after  twelve.  The  sermon  is  usually 
short  and  stirring,  but  in  the  larger  churches  elicits  little 


Sect.  32.]        Function  of  the  Negro  Church.  205 

response  other  than  an  "Amen"  or  two.  After  the  sermon 
the  social  features  begin  ;  notices  on  the  various  meetings 
of  the  week  are  read,  people  talk  with  each  other  in  sub- 
dued tones,  take  their  contributions  to  the  altar,  and  lin- 
ger in  the  aisles  and  corridors  long  after  dismission  to  laugh 
and  chat  until  one  or  two  o'clock.  Then  they  go  home 
to  good  dinners.  Sometimes  there  is  some  special  three 
o'clock  service,  but  usually  nothing  save  Sunday-school, 
until  night  Then  comes  the  chief  meeting  of  the  day ; 
probably  ten  thousand  Negroes  gather  every  Sunday  night 
in  their  churches.  There  is  much  music,  much  preaching. 
Some  short  addresses;  many  strangers  are  there  to  be 
looked  at ;  many  beans  bring  out  their  belles,  and  those 
who  do  not  gather  in  crowds  at  the  church  door  and  escort 
the  young  women  home.  The  crowds  are  usually  well 
behaved  and  respectable,  though  rather  more  jolly  than 
comports  with  a  puritan  idea  of  church  services. 

In  this  way  the  social  life  of  the  Negro  centres  in  his 
church — ^baptism,  wedding  and  burial,  gossip  and  court- 
ship, friendship  and  intrigue — ^all  lie  in  these  walls.  What 
wonder  that  this  central  club  house  tends  to  become  more 
and  more  luxuriously  furnished,  costly  in  appointment 
and  easy  of  access ! 

4.  It  must  not  be  inferred  from  all  this  that  the 
Negro  is  hypocritical  or  irreligious.  His  church  is,  to  be 
sure,  a  social  institution  first,  and  religious  afterwards,  but 
nevertheless,  its  religious  activity  is  wide  and  sincere.  In 
direct  moral  teaching  and  in  setting  moral  standards  for 
the  people,  however,  the  church  is  timid,  and  naturally  so, 
for  its  constitution  is  democracy  tempered  by  custom. 
Negro  preachers  are  often  condemned  for  poor  leadership 
and  empty  sermons,  and  it  is  said  that  men  with  so 
much  power  and  influence  could  make  striking  moral  re- 
forms. This  is  but  partially  true.  The  congregation  does 
not  follow  the  moral  precepts  of  the  preacher,  but  rather 
the  preacher  follows  the  standard  of  his  flock,  and  only 


306  Organised  Life  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  XII. 

exceptional  men  dare  seek  to  change  this.  And  here  it 
must  be  remembered  that  the  Negro  preacher  is  primarily 
an  executive  officer,  rather  than  a  spiritual  guide.  If  one 
goes  into  any  great  Negro  church  and  hears  the  sermon 
and  views  the  audience,  one  would  say  ;  either  the  sermon 
is  far  below  the  calibre  of  the  audience,  or  the  people  are  less 
sensible  than  they  look ;  the  former  explanation  is  usually 
true.  The  preacher  is  sure  to  be  a  man  of  executive  ability, 
a  leader  of  men,  a  shrewd  and  affable  president  of  a  large  and 
intricate  corporation.  In  addition  to  this  he  may  be,  and 
usually  is,  a  striking  elocutionist ;  he  may  also  be  a  man  of 
integrity,  learning,  and  deep  spiritual  earnestness;  but  these 
last  three  are  sometimes  all  lacking,  and  the  last  two  in  many 
cases.  Some  signs  of  advance  are  here  manifest:  no  min- 
ister of  notoriously  immoral  life,  or  even  of  bad  reputation, 
could  hold  a  large  church  in  Philadelphia  without  eventual 
revolt.  Most  of  the  present  pastors  are  decent,  respectable 
men  ;  there  are  perhaps  one  or  two  exceptions  to  this,  but  the 
exceptions  are  doubtful,  rather  than  notorious.  On  thewhole 
then,  the  average  Negro  preacher  in  this  city  is  a  shrewd 
manager,  a  respectable  man,  a  good  talker,  a  pleasant  com- 
panion, but  neither  learned  nor  spiritual,  nor  a  reformer. 

The  moral  standards  are  therefore  set  by  the  congrega- 
tions, and  vary  from  church  to  church  in  some  degree. 
There  has  been  a  slow  working  toward  a  literal  obeying  of 
the  puritan  and  ascetic  standard  of  morals  which  Method- 
ism imposed  on  the  freedmen  ;  but  condition  and  tem- 
perament have  modified  these.  The  grosser  forms  of  im- 
morality, together  with  theatre-going  and  dancing,  are 
specifically  denounced  ;  nevertheless,  the  precepts  against 
specific  amusements  are  often  violated  by  church  members. 
The  cleft  between  denominations  is  still  wide,  especially 
between  Methodists  and  Baptists,  The  sermons  are  usually 
kept  within  the  safe  ground  of  a  mild  Calvinism,  with 
much  insistence  on  Salvation,  Grace,  Fallen  Humanity 
and  the  like. 


Sect.  33.]  Condition  of  the  Churches.  207 

The  chief  function  of  these  churches  in  morals  is  to  con- 
serve old  standards  and  create  about  them  a  public  opinion 
which  shall  deter  the  ofiFender.  And  in  this  the  Negro 
churches  are  peculiarly  successful,  although  naturally  the 
standards  conserved  are  not  as  high  as  they  should  be. 

5.  The  Negro  churches  were  the  birthplaces  of  Negro 
schools  and  of  all  agencies  which  seek  to  promote  the  in- 
telligence of  the  masses ;  and  even  to-day  no  agency  serves 
to  disseminate  news  or  information  so  quickly  and  eflFect- 
ively  among  Negroes  as  the  church.  The  lyceum  and 
lecture  here  still  maintain  a  feeble  but  persistent  exist- 
ence, and  church  newspapers  and  books  are  circulated 
widely.  Night  schools  and  kindergartens  are  still  held  in 
connection  with  churches,  and  all  Negro  celebrities,  from  a 
bishop  to  a  poet  like  Dunbar,  are  introduced  to  Negro 
audiences  from  the  pulpits. 

6.  Consequently  all  movements  for  social  betterment  are 
apt  to  centre  in  the  churches.  Beneficial  societies  in  end- 
less number  are  formed  here  ;  secret  societies  keep  in  touch  ; 
co-operative  and  building  associations  have  lately  sprung 
up  ;  the  minister  often  acts  as  an  employment  agent ;  con- 
siderable charitable  and  relief  work  is  done  and  special 
meetings  held  to  aid  special  projects."  The  race  problem 
in  all  its  phases  is  continually  being  discussed,  and,  indeed, 
from  this  forum  many  a  youth  goes  forth  inspired  to 
work. 

Such  are  some  of  the  functions  of  the  Negro  church,  and 
a'study  of  them  indicates  how  largely  this  organization  has 
come  to  be  an  expression  of  the  organized  life  of  Negroes 
in  a  great  city. 

33.  The  Present  Condition  of  the  Churches. — ^The 
2441  families  of  the  Seventh  Ward  were  distributed  among 
the  various  denominations,  in  1896,  as  follows : 


"  Cf.  Publications  of  Atlanta  University  No.  3,  "  Efforts  of  American 
Negroes  for  Social  Betterment.'* 


Io8  Organized  Life  of  Negroes.        [Chap.  XII. 

Familiu. 

Uetliodists 8ji 

Baptists 577 

Episcopalians 156 

Presbyterians 74 

Catholic 69 

Shakers 3 

Unconnected  and  unknown 731 

2441 

Probably  half  of  the  "  unconnected  and  unknown " 
habitually  attend  church. 

In  the  city  at  large  the  Methodists  have  a'decided  majority, 
followed  by  the  Baptists,  and  further  behind,  the  Episco- 
palians. Starting  with  the  Methodists,  we  find  three 
bodies  :  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal,  founded  by  Allen, 
the  A.  M.  E.  Zion,  which  sprung  from  a  secession  of 
Negroes  from  white  churches  in  New  York  in  the  eighteenth 
century  j  and  the  M.  E.  Church,  consisting  of  colored 
churches  belonging  to  the  white  Methodist  Church,  like 
Zoar. 

The  A.  M.  E.  Church  is  the  largest  body  and  had,  in 
1897,  fourteen  churches  and  missions  in  the  city,  with  a 
total  membership  of  3210,  and  thirteen  church  edifices, 
seating  6117  persons.  These  churches  collected  during  the 
year,  $27,074.13.  Their  property  is  valued  at  $202,229 
on  which  there  is  a  mortgage  indebtedness  of  $30,000 
to  $50,000.  Detailed  statistics  are  given  in  the  table 
on  next  page. 

These  churches  are  pretty  well  organized,  and  are  con- 
ducted with  vim  and  enthusiasm.  This  arises  largely 
from  their  system.  Their  bishops  have  been  in  some  in- 
stances men  of  piety  and  ability  like  the  late  Daniel  A. 
Payne.  In  other  cases  they  have  fallen  far  below  this 
standard;  but  they  have  always  been  men  of  great  influ- 
ence, and  had  a  genius  for  leadership — else  they  would  not 
have  been  bishops.  They  have  large  powers  of  appoint- 
ment and  removal  in  the  case  of  pastors,  and  thus  each 


Sect.  33-]  Condition  of  the  Churckes. 


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fljO  Organised  Life  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  XII, 

pastor  working  under  the  eye  of  an  inspiring  chief, 
strains  every  nerve  to  make  his  church  a  successful 
organization.  The  bishop  is  aided  by  several  presiding 
elders,  who  are  traveling  inspectors  and  preachers,  and 
give  advice  as  to  appointments.  This  system  results  in 
great  unity  and  power ;  the  purely  spiritual  aims  of  the 
church,  to  be  sure,  suffer  somewhat,  but  after  all  this  pecu- 
liar organism  is  more  than  a  church,  it  is  a  government  of 
men. 

The  headquarters  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church  are  in  Philadel- 
phia. Their  publishing  house,  at  Seventh  and  Pine,  pub- 
lishes a  weekly  paper,  and  a  quarterly  review,  besides  some 
books,  such  as  hymnals,  church  disciplines,  short  treatises, 
leaflets  and  the  like.  The  receipts  of  this  establishment 
in  1897  were  ^^16,058.26,  and  its  expenditures  $14,119.15. 
Its  total  outfit  and  property  is  valued  at  $45,513.64,  with 
an  indebtedness  of  $14,513.64. 

An  episcopal  residence  for  the  bishop  of  the  district  has 
recently  been  purchased  on  Belmont  avenue.  The  Phila- 
delphia Conference  disbursed  from  the  general  church 
funds  in  1897,  $985  to  superannuated  ministers,  and  $375 
to  widows  of  ministers.  Two  or  three  women  missionaries 
visited  the  sick  during  the  year  and  some  committees  of 
the  Ladies'  Mission  Society  worked  to  secure  orphans' 
homes.''    Thus  throughout  the  work  of  this  church  there 

"  An  acccmnt  of  the  present  state  of  the  A.  U.  B.  Cbtirch  from  its  own 
lips  is  iuterestiug,  in  spite  of  its  somewhat  turgid  rhetoric  The  follow^ 
ing  is  taken  from  the  minutes  of  Philadelphia  Conference,  1S97: 


REPORT  ON  STATE  OF  1 
"To  the  Bishop  and  Conference:  We  your  Committee  011  State  of  the 

Church  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following: 

"  Bvery  truly  devoted  African  Methodist  is  intensely  interested  in  the 
condition  of  the  church  that  was  handed  down  to  us  «a  a  precious  heir- 
loom from  the  hands  of  a  God-fearing,  self-sacrificing  ancestry;  the 
church  that  Allen  planted  in  Philadelphia,  a  liUle  over  0  century  ago  has 
enjoyed  a  marvelous  development.  Its  grand  march  through  the  pro- 
cession of  a  hundred  years  has  been  characterized  by  a  series  of  brilljuit 


Sect  33-]  Condition  of  the  Churches.  211 

is  much  evidence  of  enthusiasm  and  persistent  progress." 
There  are  three  churches  in  the  city  representing  the 
A.  M.  E.  Zion  connection.     They  are : 

Wesley Fifteenth  and  Lombard  Sts. 

Mount  Zion Fifty-fifth  above  Market  St 

Union Ninth  St.  and  Girard  Ave. 


successes,  completely  refuting  the  foul  calumnies  cast  against  it  and 
overcoming  every  obstacle  that  endeavored  to  impede  its  onward  march, 
giving  the  strongest  evidence  that  God  was  in  the  midst  of  her;  she 
should  not  be  moved. 

"  From  the  humble  beginnings  in  the  little  blacksmith  shop,  at  Sixth 
and  Lombard  streets,  Philadelphia,  the  Connection  has  grown  until  we 
have  now  fifty-five  annual  conferences,  beside  mission  fields,  with  over 
four  thousand  churches,  the  same  number  of  itinerant  preachers,  near  six 
hundred  thousand  communicants,  one  and  a  half  million  adherents,  with 
six  regularly  organized  and  well-manned  departments,  each  doing  a 
magnificent  work  along  special  lines,  the  whole  under  the  immediate 
supervision  of  eleven  bishops,  each  with  a  marked  individuality  and  all 
laboring  together  for  the  further  development  and  perpetuity  of  the 
church.  In  this  the  Mother  Conference  of  the  Connection,  we  have 
every  reason  to  be  grateful  to  Almighty  God  for  the  signal  blessings  He 
has  so  graciously  poured  out  upon  us.  The  spiritual  benedictions  have 
been  many.  In  response  to  earnest  effort  and  fieiithful  prayers  by  both 
pastors  and  congregations,  nearly  two  thousand  persons  have  professed 
faith  in  Christ,  during  this  conference  year.  Five  thousand  dollars  have 
been  given  by  the  membership  and  friends  of  the  Connection al  interests 
to  carry  on  the  machinery  of  the  church,  besides  liberal  contributions  for 
the  cause  of  missions,  education,  the  Sunday-school  Union  and  Church 
Extension  Departments,  and  beside  all  this,  the  presiding  elder  and 
pastors  have  been  made  to  feel  that  the  people  are  perfectly  willing  to  do 
what  they  can  to  maintain  the  preaching  of  the  word,  that  tends  to 
elevate  mankind  and  glorify  God. 

"The  local  interests  have  not  been  neglected;  new  churches  have  been 
built,  parsonages  erected,  church  mortgages  have  been  reduced,  auxiliary 
societies  to  give  everybody  in  the  church  a  chance  to  work  for  God  and 
humanity,  have  been  more  extensively  organized  than  ever  before. 

"The  danger  signal  that  we  see  here  and  there  cropping  out,  which 
is  calculated  to  bring  discredit  upon  the  Church  of  Christ,  is  the  unholy 
ambition  for  place  and  power.  The  means  ofttimes  used  to  bring  about 
the  desired  results,  cause  the  blush  of  shame  to  tinge  the  brow  of 

'*  Cf.,  e,  g,f  the  account  of  the  founding  of  new  missions  in  the  minutes 
of  the  Philadelphia  Conference,  1896. 


ila  Orgam2ed  Life  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  XII. 

No  detailed  statistics  of  these  churches  are  available ; 
the  last  two  are  small ,  the  first  is  one  of  the  largest  and 


Christian  manhood.  God  always  has  and  always  will  select  those  He 
designs  to  use  as  the  leadera  of  his  Church, 

"  Political  methods  that  are  in  too  many  instances  resorted  to,  are  cou- 
tnry  to  the  teachiug  and  spirit  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Fitness  and 
sobriety  will  always  be  found  in  the  lead. 

"Through  mistaken  sympathy  we  find  that  several  incompetent  men 
have  found  their  way  into  the  ministeiial  ranks;  men  who  can  neither 
manage  tlie  financial  nor  spiritual  interests  of  any  church  or  briug  success 
along  any  line,  who  are  continuously  on  the  wing  from  one  conference  to 
the  other.  The  time  has  come  when  the  strictest  scrutiny  must  be  exer- 
cised as  to  purpose  and  fitness  of  candidates,  and  if  admitted  and  fonnd 
to  be  continuous  failures,  Christian  charity  demands  that  they  be  given 
an  opportunity  to  seek  a  calling  where  they  can  make  more  success  than 
in  the  ministry.  These  danger  signals  that  Sash  up  now  and  then  must 
be  observed  and  everything  contrary  to  the  teachings  of  God's  word  and 
the  spirit  of  the  discipline  weeded  out.  The  church  owes  a  debt  of 
gratitude  to  the  fathers  who  have  always  remained  loyal  and  true;  who 
labored  persistently  and  well  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  connection,  that 
they  can  never  repay. 

"  Particular  care  should  be  taken  that  no  honorable  aged  minister  of 
our  great  Church  should  be  allowed  to  suffer  for  the  necessaries  of  life. 
We  especially  commend  to  the  consideration  of  every  minister  the 
Ministers'  Aid  Association,  which  is  now  almost  ready  to  be  organized, 
the  object  of  which  is  to  help  assuage  the  grief  and  dry  the  tears  of  those 
who  have  been  left  widowed  and  fatherless. 

"  Our  Publication  Department  is  making  heroic  efforts  for  the  larger 
circulation  of  our  denominational  papers  and  literature  generally.  These 
efforts  ought  to  be,  and  must  needs  be  heartily  seconded  by  the  Chnrch. 
Lord  Bacon  says:  '  Talking  makes  a  ready  man,  writing  an  exact  maii, 
but  reading  makes  a  full  man.'  We  want  our  people  at  laige  to  be  brim- 
ful of  information  relative  to  the  growth  of  the  church,  the  progress  of 
the  race,  the  upbuilding  of  humanity  and  the  glory  of  God. 

"  Our  missionary  work  must  not  be  allowed  to  retrograde.  The  banner 
that  Allen  raised  must  not  be  allowed  to  trail,  bnt  must  go  forward  until 
the  swarthy  sons  of  Ham  everywhere  shall  ga/.e  with  a  longing  and 
loving  look  upon  the  escutcheon  that  has  emblazoned  on  it,  as  its  motto: 
'  The  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  Brotherhood  of  man,'  and  the 
glorious  truth  flashing  over  the  whole  world  that  Jesus  Christ  died  to 
redeem  the  universal  family  of  mankind.  Disasters  and  misfortunes 
may  come  to  us,  but  strong  men  never  quail  before  adversities.  The 
clouds  of  Lo-day  may  be  succeeded  hj  the  sunshine  of  to-morrow." 


Sect.  33.] 


Condition  of  the  Churches, 


ai3 


most  popular  in  the  city ;  the  pastor  receives  $1500  a  year 
and  the  total  income  of  the  church  is  between  f4cx>o  and 
I5000.  It  does  considerable  charitable  work  among  its 
aged  members,  and  supports  a  large  sick  and  death  benefit 
society.     Its  property  is  worth  at  least  $25,000. 

Two  other  Methodist  churches  of  different  denomina- 
tions are :  Grace  U-  A.  M,  E.,  Lombard  street,  above  Fif- 
teenth;  St.  Matthew  Methodist  Protestant,  Fifty-eighth 
and  Vine  streets.  Both  these  churches  are  small,  although 
the  first  has  a  valuable  piece  of  property. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  six  organizations 
in  the  city  among  the  Negroes  ;  they  own  church  property 
valued  at  $53,700,  have  a  total  membership  of  1202,  and  an 
income  of  $16,394  '"  ^897.  Of  this  total  income,  $1235, 
or  7j4  per  cent,  was  given  for  benevolent  enterprises. 
These  churches  are  quiet  and  well  conducted,  and  although 
not  among  the  most  popular  churches,  have  nevertheless 
a  membership  of  old  and  respected  citizens. 

Coi,ORBD  M.  B.  Crdkchrs  IK  Phii.adbi.phia,  1897. 


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There  were  in  1896  seventeen  Baptist  churches  in  Phila- 
delphia, holding  property  valued  at  more  than  $300,000, 
having  six  thousand  members,  and  an  annual  income  of, 
probably,  $30,000  to  $35,000.  One  of  the  largest  churches 
has  in  the  last  five  years  raised  between  $17,000  and 
$18,000. 


Organised  Lije  oj  Negroes.       [Chap.  XII. 


Coi,OBED  Baptist  CnnKCHSS  or  Fbii.adrubu,  1896. 

<.„. 

Member. 
»hlp. 

Value  or 

HissioDa. 
FQreiEn. 

t:^^l 

435 

800 

1,020 

1 

305 

57 
1,000 
387 
164 
700 

J30,<XDO 
50.000 
50,000 
35,000 

1)000 

14,800 

50,000 
10,000 

40,000 

■58.10 

3^36 
3.00 

5-5° 
9-73 

Cherry  Street 

Ebeneier 

Grace 

13.600 

Holy  Trinity 

Second,  Nicetown   ..... 
Zioii 

Providence 

Cherry  Street  Mission    .... 

Total 

5.583     '|»96,8oo 

The  Baptists  are  strong  in  Philadelphia,  and  own  many 
large  and  attractive  churches,  such  as,  for  instance,  the 
Union  Baptist  Church,  on  Twelfth  street ;  Zion  Baptist,  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  city  ;  Monumental,  in  West  Phila- 
delphia, and  the  staid  and  respectable  Cherry  Street  Church. 
These  churches  as  a  rule  have  large  membership.  They 
are,  however,  quite  different  in  spirit  and  methods  from  the 
Methodists ;  they  lack  organization,  and  are  not  so  well 
managed  as  business  institutions.  Consequently  statistics 
of  their  work  are  very  hard  to  obtain,  and  indeed  in  many 
cases  do  not  even  exist  for  individual  churches.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Baptists  are  peculiarly  clannish  and  loyal 
to  their  organization,  keep  their  pastors  a  long  time,  and 
thus  each  church  gains  an  individuality  not  noticed  in 
Methodist  churches.  If  the  pastor  is  a  strong,  upright 
character,  his  influence  for  good  is  marked.  At  tlie  same 
time,  the  Baptists  have  in  their  ranks  a  larger  percentage 
of  illiteracy  than  probably  any  other  church,  and  it  is 
often  possible  for  an  inferior  man  to  hold  a  large  church 


Sect  33.] 


Condition  of  the  Churches. 


215 


for  years  and  allow  it  to  stagnate  and  retrograde.  The 
Baptist  policy  is  extreme  democracy  applied  to  church 
afl&irs,  and  no  wonder  that  this  often  results  in  a  per- 
nicious dictatorship.  While  many  of  the  Baptist  pastors 
of  Philadelphia  are  men  of  ability  and  education,  the 
general  average  is  below  that  of  the  other  churches — a 
fact  due  principally  to  the  ease  with  which  one  can  enter 
the  Baptist  ministry."  These  churches  support  a  small 
publishing  house  in  the  city,  which  issues  a  weekly  paper. 
They  do  some  charitable  work,  but  not  much.** 
There  are  three  Presbyterian  churches  in  the  city : 


Name. 


Berean  .  .  . 
Central  .  .  . 
First  African 


Members. 

Value  of 
Property. 

Annual 
Income. 

98 
430 
105 

$75,000 
50,000 
25.000 

$1,135 
1,800 

1,538 

Parsonage. 
Parsonage. 


Central  Church  is  the  oldest  of  these  churches  and  has 
an  interesting  history.  It  represents  a  withdrawal  from 
the  First  African  Presbyterian  Church  in  1844.  The  con- 
gregation first  worshiped  at  Eighth  and  Carpenter  streets, 


^  Baptists  themselves  recognize  this.  One  of  the  speakers  in  a  recent 
association  meeting,  as  reported  by  the  press,  "deprecated  the  spirit 
shown  by  some  churches  in  spreading  their  differences  to  their  detriment 
aschnrch  members,  and  in  the  eyes  of  their  white  brethren;  and  he  recom- 
mended that  unworthy  brethren  from  other  States,  who  sought  an  asylum 
of  rest  here,  be  not  admitted  to  local  pulpits  except  in  cases  where  the 
ministers  so  applying  are  personally  known  or  vouched  for  by  a  resident 
pastor.  The  custom  of  recognizing  as  preachers  men  incapable  of  doing 
good  work  in  the  pulpit,  who  were  ordained  in  the  South  after  they  had 
failed  in  the  North,  was  also  condemned,  and  the  President  declared  that 
the  times  demand  a  ministry  that  is  able  to  preach.  The  practice  of 
licensing  incapable  brethren  for  the  ministry,  simply  to  please  them,  was 
also  looked  upon  with  disfavor,  and  it  was  recommended  that  applicants 
for  ordination  be  required  to  show  at  least  ability  to  read  intelligently 
the  Word  of  God  or  a  hymn.'* 

I'One  movement  deserves  notice— the  Woman's  Auxiliary  Society. 
It  consists  of  five  circles,  representing  a  like  number  of  colored  Baptist 
churches  in  this  city,  viz.,  the  Cherry  Street,  Holy  Trinity,  Union, 
Kicetown  and  Germantown,  and  does  general  missionary  work. 


ax6  Organised  Life  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  XII. 

and  in  1845  purchased  a  lot  at  Ninth  and  Lombard, 
where  they  still  meet  in  a  quiet  and  respectable  house  of 
worship.  Their  430  uiembers  include  some  of  the  oldest 
and  most  respectable  Negro  families  of  the  city.  Probably 
if  the  white  Presbyterians  had  given  more  encouragement 
to  Negroes,  this  denomination  would  have  absorbed  the 
best  elements  of  the  colored  population  ;  they  seem,  how- 
ever, to  have  shown  some  desire  to  be  rid  of  the  blacks,  or 
at  least  not  to  increase  their  Negro  membership  in  Phila- 
delphia to  any  great  extent.  Central  Church  is  more 
nearly  a  simple  religious  organization  than  most  churches ; 
it  listens  to  able  sermons,  but  does  little  outside  its  own 
doors." 

Berean  Church  is  the  work  of  one  man  and  is  an  insti- 
tutional church.  It  was  formerly  a  mission  of  Central 
Church  and  now  owns  a  fine  piece  of  property  bought  by 
donations  contributed  by  whites  and  Negroes,  but  chiefly  by 
the  former.  The  conception  of  the  work  and  its  cany-ing 
out,  however,  is  due  to  Negroes,  This  church  conducts  a 
successful  Building  aud  Loan  Association,  a  kindergarten, 

"See,  Jones'  "Fifty  Years  in  Central  Street  Church."  etc.  The  system 
and  order  in  this  church  is  remarkable.  Each  year  a  careful  printed 
report  of  receipts  and  expenditures  is  made.  The  following  is  an  abstract 
of  the  report  for  1891: 

Receipts. 

Finance  Commitlee (977  39 

Pew  Rents 709  75 

I-egacy 760  77 

Other  Receipts 3=9  54 

— *»777  45 

Expendititrei. 

Pastor's  Salary f  1000  00 

Other  Salaries 476  00 

Repayment  of  Ix>an 409  00 

Interest  on  Mortgage 60  96 

Donations  to  General  Church 3157 

General  Expenses,  etc 759  23 

$1736  76 

Balance {    40  69 


Sect  33.]  CondiHon  of  the  Churches.  217 

a  medical  dispensary  and  a  seaside  home,  beside  the  num- 
erous church  societies.  Probably  no  church  in  the  city, 
except  the  Episcopal  Church  of  the  Crucifixion,  is  doing 
so  much  for  the  social  betterment  of  the  Negro.*®  The 
First  African  is  the  oldest  colored  church  of  this  denomina- 
tion in  the  city. 

The  Episcopal  Church  has,  for  Negro  congregations,  two 
independent  churches,  two  churches  dependent  on  white 
parishes,  and  four  missions  and  Sunday-schools.  Statistics 
of  three  of  these  are  given  in  the  table  on  page  218. 

The  Episcopal  churches  receive  more  outside  help  than 
others  and  also  do  more  general  mission  and  rescue  work. 
They  hold  $150,000  worth  of  property,  have  900-1000 
members  and  an  annual  income  of  $7000  to  $8000.  They 
represent  all  grades  of  the  colored  population.  The 
oldest  of  the  churches  is  St.  Thomas.  Next  comes  the 
Church  of  the  Crucifixion,  over  fifty  years  old  and  perhaps 
the  most  efiFective  church  organization  in  the  city  for 
benevolent  and  rescue  work.  It  has  been  built  up  virtually 
by  one  Negro,  a  man  of  sincerity  and  culture,  and  of 
peculiar  energy.  This  church  carries  on  regular  church 
work  at  Bainbridge  and  Eighth  and  at  two  branch  mis- 
sions ;  it  helps  in  the  Fresh  Air  Fund,  has  an  ice  mission,  a 
vacation  school  of  thirty-five  children,  and  a  parish  visitor. 
It  makes  an  especial  feature  of  good  music  with  its  vested 
choir.  One  or  two  courses  of  University  Extension  lectures 
are  held  here  each  year,  and  there  is  a  large  beneficial  and 
insurance  society  in  active  operation,  and  a  Home  for  the 
Homeless  on  Lombard  street.  This  church  especially 
reaches  after  a  class  of  neglected  poor  whom  the  other 
colored  churches  shun  or  forget  and  for  whom  there  is 
little  fellowship  in  white  churches.  The  rector  says  of  this 
work: 


4< 


^Por  history  and  detailed   account   of  this   work   see   Anderson's 
Presbyterianism  and  the  Negro,"  Phila.,  1897. 


Organised  Life  of  Negri 


[Chap.  XII. 


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Sect  33.]  Condition  of  the  Churches.  219 

"  As  I  look  back  over  nearly  twenty  years  of  labor  in  one 
parish,  I  see  a  great  deal  to  be  devoutly  thankful  for. 
Here  are  people  struggling  from  the  beginning  of  one 
year  to  another,  without  ever  having  what  can  be  called 
the  necessaries  of  life.  God  alone  knows  what  a  real 
struggle  life  is  to  them.  Many  of  them  must  always  be 
'moving  on,'  because  they  cannot  pay  the  rent  or  meet 
other  obligations. 

"  I  have  just  visited  a  family  of  four,  mother  and  three 
children.  The  mother  is  too  sick  to  work.  The  eldest 
girl  will  work  when  she  can  find  something  to  do.  But 
the  rent  is  due,  and  there  is  not  a  cent  in  the  house.  This 
is  but  a  sample.  How  can  such  people  support  a  church 
of  their  own?  To  many  such,  religion  often  becomes 
doubly  comforting.  They  seize  eagerly  on  the  promises 
of  a  life  where  these  earthly  distresses  will  be  forever 
absent. 

"  If  the  other  half  only  knew  how  this  half  is  living — how 
hard  and  dreary,  and  often  hopeless,  life  is — the  members 
of  the  more  favored  half  would  gladly  help  to  do  all  they 
could  to  have  the  gospel  freely  preached  to  those  whose 
lives  are  so  devoid  of  earthly  comforts. 

"Twenty  or  thirty  thousand  dollars  (and  that  is  not 
much),  safely  invested,  would  enable  the  parish  to  do  a 
work  that  ought  to  be  done  and  yet  is  not  being  done  at 
present  The  poor  could  then  have  the  gospel  preached  to 
them  in  a  way  that  it  is  not  now  being  preached." 

The  Catholic  church  has  in  the  last  decade  made  great 
progress  in  its  work  among  Negroes  and  is  determined  to 
do  much  in  the  future.  Its  chief  hold  upon  the  colored 
people  is  its  comparative  lack  of  discrimination.  There  is 
one  Catholic  church  in  the  city  designed  especially  for 
Negro  work — St.  Peter  Clavers  at  Twelfth  and  Lombard — 
formerly  a  Presbyterian  church;  recently  a  parish  house 
has  been  added.  The  priest  in  charge  estimates  that  400 
or  500  Negroes  regularly  attend  Catholic  churches  in  various 


aao  Organized  Life  of  Negroes.        [Chap.  XII. 

parts  of  the  city.  The  Maiy  Drexel  Home  for  Colored 
Orphans  is  a  Catholic  institution  near  the  city  which  is 
doing  miich  work.  The  Catholic  church  can  do  more  than 
any  other  agency  in  humanizing  the  intense  prejudice  of 
many  of  the  working-class  against  the  Negro,  and  signs  of 
this  influence  are  manifest  in  some  quarters. 

We  have  thus  somewhat  in  detail  reviewed  the  work  of 
the  chief  churches.  There  are  beside  these  continually 
springing  up  and  dying  a  host  of  little  noisy  missions  which 
represent  the  older  and  more  demonstrative  worship.  A 
description  of  one  applies  to  nearly  all;  take  for  instance 
one  in  the  slums  of  the  Fifth  Ward: 

"  The  tablet  in  the  gable  of  this  little  church  bears  the 
date  1837.  For  sixty  years  it  has  stood  and  done  its  work 
in  the  narrow  lane.  What  its  history  has  been  all  this 
time  it  is  difficult  to  find  out,  for  no  records  are  on  hand, 
and  no  one  is  here  to  tell  the  tale. 

"  The  few  last  months  of  the  old  order  was  something  like 
this:  It  was  in  the  hands  of  a  Negro  congregation. 
Several  visits  were  paid  to  the  church,  and  generally  a 
dozen  people  were  found  there.  After  a  discourse  by  a 
very  illiterate  preacher,  hymns  were  sung,  having  many 
repetitions  of  seuseless  sentiment  and  exciting  cadences. 
It  took  about  an  hour  to  work  up  the  congregation  to  a 
fervor  aimed  at.  When  this  was  reached  a  remarkable 
scene  presented  itself.  The  whole  congregation  pressed 
forward  to  an  open  space  before  the  pulpit,  and  formed  a 
ring.  The  most  excitable  of  their  mimber  entered  the 
ring,  and  with  clapping  of  hands  and  contortions  led  the 
devotions.  Those  forming  the  ring  joined  in  the  clapping 
of  hands  and  wild  aud  loud  singing,  frequently  springing 
into  the  air,  and  shouting  loudly.  As  the  devotions  pro- 
ceeded, most  of  the  worshipers  took  off  their  coats  and 
vests  and  hung  them  on  pegs  on  the  wall.  This  continued 
for  hours,  until  all  were  completely  exhausted,  and  some 
had  fainted  and  been  stowed  away  on  benches  or  the  pulpit 


> 


Sect  34.]    Societies  and  Cooperative  Business.  221 

platform.  This  was  the  order  of  things  at  the  close  of  sixty 
years'  history.  *  *  *  When  this  congregation  vacated 
the  church,  they  did  so  stealthily,  under  cover  of  darkness, 
removed  furniture  not  their  own,  including  the  pulpit,  and 
left  bills  unpaid." '» 

There  are  dozens  of  such  little  missions  in  various  parts 
of  Philadelphia,  led  by  wandering  preachers.  They  are 
survivals  of  the  methods  of  worship  in  Africa  and  the  West 
Indies.  In  some  of  the  larger  churches  noise  and  excite- 
ment attend  the  services,  especially  at  the  time  of  revival 
or  in  prayer  meetings.  For  the  most  part,  however,  these 
customs  are  dying  away. 

To  recapitulate,  we  have  in  Philadelphia  fifty-five  Negro 
churches  with  12,845  members  owning  1^907,729  worth  of 
property  with  an  annual  income  of  at  least  $94,968.  And 
these  represent  the  organized  efforts  of  the  race  better  than 
any  other  organizations.  Second  to  them  however  come 
the  secret  and  benevolent  societies,  which  we  now  consider. 

34.  Secret  and  Beneficial  Societies,  and  Co-operative 
Business. — ^The  art  of  organization  is  the  one  hardest  for 
the  freedman  to  learn,  and  the  Negro  shows  his  greatest 
deficiency  here ;  whatever  success  he  has  had  has  been 
shown  most  conspicuously  in  his  church  organizations, 
where  the  religious  bond  greatly  facilitated  union.  In 
other  organizations  where  the  bond  was  weaker  his  success 
has  been  less.  From  early  times  the  precarious  economic 
condition  of  the  free  Negroes  led  to  many  mutual  aid 
organizations.  They  were  very  simple  in  form  :  an  initia- 
tion fee  of  small  amount  was  required,  and  small  regular 
payments ;  in  case  of  sickness,  a  weekly  stipend  was  paid, 
and  in  case  of  death  the  members  were  assessed  to  pay  for 
the  funeral  and  help  the  widow.  Confined  to  a  few  mem- 
bers, all  personally  known  to  each  other,  such  societies 


VRey.   Charles  Daniel,  in  the  Nazarene,     The  writer  hardly  does 
justice  to  the  weird  witchery  of  those  hymns  sung  thus  rudely. 


r 


339  Organized  Life  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  XII. 

were  successful  from  the  beginning.  We  hear  of  them  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  and  by  1838  there  were  100  such 
small  groups,  with  7448  members,  in  the  city.  They  paid 
in  $18,851,  gave  $14,172  in  benefits,  and  had  $10,023  0° 
hand.  Ten  years  later  about  eight  thousand  members 
belonged  to  106  such  societies.  Seventy-six  of  these  had 
a  total  membership  of  5187.  They  contributed  usually  25 
cents  to  37  J^  cents  a  month  ;  the  sick  received  $1.50  to 
$3.00  a  week,  and  death  benefits  of  $10.00  to  $20.00  were 
allowed.  The  income  of  these  seventy-six  societies  was 
$16,814.23;  681  families  were  assisted.™ 

These  societies  have  since  been  superceded  to  some 
extent  by  other  organizations  ;  they  are  still  so  numerous, 
however,  that  it  is  impractical  to  catalogue  all  of  them ; 
there  are  probably  several  hundred  of  various  kinds  in 
the  city. 

To  these  were  early  added  the  secret  societies,  which 
naturally  had  great  attraction  for  Negroes.  A  Boston 
lodge  of  black  Masons  received  a  charter  direct  from  Eng- 
land, and  independent  orders  of  Odd  Fellows,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  etc.,  grew  up.  During  the  time  that  Negroes 
were  shut  out  of  the  public  libraries  there  were  many 
literary  associations  with  libraries.  These  have  now  dis- 
appeared. Outside  the  churches  the  most  important 
organizations  among  Negroes  to-day  are ;  Secret  societies, 
beneficial  societies,  insurance  societies,  cemeteries,  building 
and  loan  associations,  labor  unions,  homes  of  various  sorts 
and  political  clubs.  The  most  powerful  and  flourishing 
secret  order  is  that  of  the  Odd  Fellows,  which  has  two 
hundred  thousand  members  among  American  Negroes.  In 
Philadelphia  there  are  19  lodges  with  a  total  membership 
of  ir88,  and  $46,000  worth  of  property.  Detailed  statis- 
tics are  in  the  next  table : " 

•"Cf.  report  of  inquiries  in  abDve  years. 

>i  Prom  Report  of  Fourtb  Annual  Meeting  of  the  District  Grand  Lodge 
of  PennsylraDia,  G.  U.  of  O.  P.,  1896. 


M 


Sect  34.]    Societies  and  Cooperative  Busmess. 


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324  Organized  Life  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  X 11. 

This  order  owns  two  halls  in  the  city  worth  perhaps 
140,000.  One  is  occupied  by  the  officers  of  the  Grand 
Lodge,  which  employs  several  salaried  officials  and  clerks. 
The  order  conducts  a  newspaper  called  the  Odd  Fellows^ 
Journal. 

There  are  19  lodges  of  Masons  in  the  city,  6  chapters, 
5  commanderies,  3  of  the  Scottish  Rite,  and  i  drill  corp. 
The  Masons  are  not  so  well  organized  and  conducted  as 
the  Odd  Fellows,  and  detailed  statistics  of  their  lodges  are 
not  available.  They  own  two  halls  worth  at  least  $50,000, 
and  probably  distribute  not  less  than  t}poo  to  $4000  annn- 
ally  in  benefits. 

Beside  these  chief  secret  orders  there  are  numerous 
others,  such  as  the  American  Protestant  Association,  which 
has  many  members,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Galilean 
Fishermen,  the  various  female  orders  attached  to  these, 
and  a  number  of  others.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  get 
accurate  statistics  of  all  these  orders,  and  any  estimate  of 
their  economic  activity  is  liable  to  considerable  error. 
However,  from  general  observation  and  the  available 
figures,  it  seems  fairly  certain  that  at  least  four  thousand 
Negroes  belong  to  secret  orders,  and  that  these  orders 
annually  collect  at  least  $25,000,  part  of  which  is  paid  out 
in  sick  and  death  benefits,  and  part  invested.  The  real 
estate,  personal  property  and  funds  of  these  orders  amount 
to  no  less  than  $135,000. 

The  function  of  the  secret  society  is  partly  social  inter- 
course and  partly  insurance.  They  furnish  pastime  from 
the  monotony  of  work,  a  field  for  ambition  and  intrigue, 
a  chance  for  parade,  and  insurance  against  misfortune- 
Next  to  the  church  they  are  the  most  popular  organiza- 
tions among  Negroes. 

Of  the  beneficial  societies  we  have  already  spoken  in 
general.  A  detailed  account  of  a  few  of  the  larger  and 
more  typical  organizations  will  now  suffice.  The  Quaker 
City  Association  is  a  sick  and  death  benefit  society,  seven 


Sect.  34.]    Societies  and  Co-operative  Business.  225 

years  old,  which  confines  its  membership  to  native  Phila- 
delphians.  It  has  280  members  and  distributes  $1400  to 
$1500  annually.  The  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Delaware 
is  over  fifty  years  old.  It  has  106  members,  and  owns 
$3000  worth  of  real  estate.  The  Fraternal  Association 
was  founded  in  1861 ;  it  has  86  members,  and  distributes 
about  $300  a  year.  It  "was  formed  for  the  purpose  of 
relieving  the  wants  and  distresses  of  each  other  in  the 
time  of  affliction  and  death,  and  for  the  furtherance  of 
such  benevolent  views  and  objects  as  would  tend  to  estab- 
lish and  maintain  a  permanent  and  friendly  intercourse 
among  them  in  their  social  relations  in  life."  The  Sons 
of  St  Thomas  was  founded  in  1823  ^^^  ^^^  originally 
confined  to  members  of  St  Thomas  Church.  It  was 
formerly  a  large  organization,  but  now  has  80  members, 
and  paid  out  in  1896,  $416  in  relief.  It  has  $1500  invested 
in  government  bonds.  In  addition  to  these  there  is  the 
Old  Men's  Association,  the  Female  Cox  Association,  the 
Sons  and  Daughters  of  Moses,  and  a  large  number  of  other 
small  societies. 

There  is  arising  also  a  considerable  number  of  insur- 
ance societies,  differing  from  the  beneficial  in  being  con- 
ducted by  directors.  The  best  of  these  are  the  Crucifixion 
cdnuected  with  the  Church  of  the  Crucifixion,  and  the 
Avery,  connected  with  Wesley  A.  M.  E.  Z.  Church ;  both 
have  a  large  membership  and  are  well  conducted.  Nearly 
every  church  is  beginning  to  organize  one  or  more  such 
societies,  some  of  which  in  times  past  have  met  disaster 
by  bad  management  The  True  Reformers  of  Virginia,  the 
most  remarkable  Negro  beneficial  organization  yet  started^ 
has  several  branches  here.  Beside  these  there  are  number- 
less minor  societies,  as  the  Alpha  Relief,  Knights  and 
Ladies  of  St  Paul,  the  National  Co-operative  Society,  Col- 
ored Women's  Protective  Association,  Loyal  Beneficial,  etc. 
Some  of  these  are  honest  efforts  and  some  are  swindling 
imitations  of  the  pernicious  white  petty  insurance  societies. 

15 


226  Organized  Life  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  XII. 

There  are  three  building  and  loan  associations  conducted 
by  Negroes.  Some  of  the  directors  in  one  are  white,  all 
the  others  are  colored.  The  oldest  association  is  the  Cen- 
tury, established  October  26,  i885.  Its  board  of  directors 
is  composed  of  teachers,  upholsterers,  clerks,  restaurant 
keepers  and  undertakers,  and  it  lias  had  marked  success. 
Its  income  for  1897  was  about  $7000.  It  has  $25,000  in 
loans  outstanding. 

'■'■  The  Berean  Building  and  Loan  Association  was  estab- 
lished in  1888  in  connection  with  Berean  Presbyterian 
Church;  13  of  the  19  officers  and  directors  are  colored. 
Its  income  for  1896  was  nearly  $30,000,  and  it  had  $60,000 
in  loans ;  43  homes  have  been  bought  through  this  asso- 
ciation.*" 

The  Pioneer  Association  is  composed  entirely  of  Negroes, 
the  directors  being  caterers,  merchants  and  upholsterers. 
It  was  founded  in  1888  and  has  an  office  on  Pine  street- 
Its  receipts  in  1897  were  $9000,  and  it  had  about  fao,ooo 
in  loans.  Nine  homes  are  at  present  being  bought  in  this 
association. 

There  are  arising  some  loan  associations  to  replace  the 
pawn-shops  and  usurers  to  some  extent.  The  Small  Loan 
Association,  for  instance,  was  founded  in  1891,  and  has  the 
following  report  for  189S: 

Shares  sold |ir44  00 

Assessments  on  shares ,j> 114  40 

Repaid  loans "TT 4537  50 

Interest ' 417  06 

Cash  in  treasury ^75  54 

Dividends  paid 333  67 

Ijoans  made 4616  75 

Expenses 83  03 

The  Conservative  is  a  similar  organization,  consisting  of 
ten  members. 

"This  association  has  issued  a  valuable  little  pamphlet  called  "Helpful 
Hints  on  Home,"  which  it  distributes.  This  explains  the  object  and 
methods  of  buildiog  and  loan  associations. 


Sect  34.]   Societies  and  Co-operative  Business.  t2y 

This  account  has  attempted  to  touch  only  the  chief  and 
characteristic  organizations,  and  makes  no  pretensions  to 
completeness.  It  shows,  however,  how  intimately  bound 
together  the  Negroes  of  Philadelphia  are.  These  associa- 
tions are  largely  experiments,  and  as  such,  are  continually 
teaching  out  to  new  fields.  The  latest  ventures  are  toward 
labor  unions,  co-operative  stores  and  newspapers.  There 
are  the  following  labor  unions,  among  others :  The  Caterers' 
Club,  the  Private  Waiters'  Association,  the  Coachmen's 
Association,  the  Hotel  Brotherhood  (of  waiters),  the  Cigar- 
makers'  Union  (white  and  colored),  the  Hod-Carriers'  Union, 
the  Barbers'  Union,  etc. 

Of  the  Caterers'  Club  we  have  already  heard.**  The 
Private  Waiters'  Association  is  an  old  beneficial  order  with 
well-to-do  members.  The  private  waiter  is  really  a  skilled 
workman  of  high  order,  and  used  to  be  well  paid.  Next 
to  the  guild  of  caterers  he  ranked  as  high  as  any  class  of 
Negro  workmen  before  the  war — ^indeed  the  caterer  was 
but  a  private  waiter  further  developed.  Consequently  this 
labor  union  is  still  jealous  and  exclusive  and  contains 
some  members  long  retired  from  active  work.  The  Coach- 
men's Association  is  a  similar  society;  both  these  organiza- 
tions have  a  considerable  membership,  and  make  sick  and 
death  benefits  and  social  gatherings  a  feature.  The  Hotel 
Brotherhood  is  a  new  society  of  hotel  waiters  and  is  con- 
ducted by  young  men  on  the  lines  of  the  regular  trades 
unions,  with  which  it  is  more  or  less  affiliated  in  many 
cities.  It  has  some  relief  features  and  considerable  social 
life.  It  strives  to  open  and  keep  open  work  for  colored 
waiters  and  often  arranges  to  divide  territory  with  whites, 
or  to  prevent  one  set  from  supplanting  the  other.  The 
Cigar-makers'  Union  is  a  regular  trades  union  with  both 
white  and  Negro  members.  It  is  the  only  union  in  Phila- 
delphia where  Negroes  are  largely  represented.    No  friction 


"  See  supra,  p.  119  ff. 


9)28  Organised  Life  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  XII. 

is  apparent.  The  Hod-Carriers'  Union  is  large  and  of  consid- 
erable age  but  does  not  seem  to  be  very  active.  A  League  of 
Colored  Mechanics  was  formed  in  1897  but  did  not  accom- 
plish anything.  There  was  before  the  war  a  league  of  this 
sort  which  flourished,  and  there  undoubtedly  will  be 
attempts  of  this  sort  in  the  future  until  a  union  is  effected." 

The  two  co-operative  grocery  stores,  and  the  caterers' 
supply  store  have  been  mentioned."  There  was  a  dubious 
attempt  in  1896  to  organize  a  co-operative  tin-ware  store 
which  has  not  yet  been  successful.** 

With  all  this  effort  and  movement  it  is  natural  that  the 
Negroes  should  want  some  means  of  communication.  This 
they  have  in  the  following  periodicals  conducted  wholly  by 
Negroes : 


"The  College  Settlement  was  interested  in  this  organization,  but  the 
movement  was  evidently  premature. 

"  See  sufra,  p.  117  and  p.  119. 

"An  interesting  advertisement  of  this  venture  is  appended;  It  is  a 
ctirious  mixture  of  business,  exhortation  and  simplidt;.  The  present 
state  of  the  enterprise  is  not  known  : 

"  NOTICE  TO   AI.I„ 

"WE  CALL  YOUR  ATTENTION 

"To  This  Work. 

"THE  UNION  TIN-WARB  MANUPACTDRING  CO. 

"Is  now  at  work,  chartered  under  the  laws  of  the  States  of  New  Jersey 
and  Pennsylvania. 

"The  purpose  of  said  Company  is  to  manufacture  everything  in  the 
TIN-WARE  LINE  that  the  law  allows,  and  to  seU  stock  all  over  the 
United  States  of  America;  and  pat  iti  members  enough  in  every  city  to 
open  a  Union  Tin-Ware  Store,  and  if  the  promoter  fiuds  that  he  has 
not  enough  members  in  a  city  to  open  a  Tin-Ware  Store,  then  he  shall 
open  it  with  money  from  the  factory,  SHARES  are  $10.00,  they  can  be 
paid  on  installment  plan;  and  you  do  not  have  any  monthly  dues  to  pay, 
but  on  the  aoth  of  every  December  or  whenever  the  Stockholders 
Appoint  the  time,  the  dividend  will  be  declared. 

"  We  will  make  this  one  of  the  grandest  organiiations  ever  witnessed 
by  the  Race,  if  you  lend  us  your  aid.  This  Store  will  contain  Groceries, 
Dry  Goods  and  Tin-Ware,  and  you  can  do  your  dealing  at  yonr  own 
store.     This  factory  will  give  you  work,  and  learn  you  a  trade." 


Sect  34.]    Societies  and  Co-operative  Btisiness.  2Zg 

A.  M.  E.  Church  Reinew^  quarterly,  8vo,  about  ninety- 
five  pages. 

Christian  Recorder^  eight  page  weekly  newspaper.  (Both 
these  are  organs  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church.) 

Baptist  Christian  Banner^  four  page  weekly  newspaper. 
(Organ  of  the  Baptists.) 

Odd  Fellows'  Journal^  eight  page  weekly  newspaper. 
(Organ  of  Odd  fellows. ) 

Weekly  Tribune^  eight  page  weekly  newspaper,  seven- 
teen years  established. 

The  Astonisher^  eight  page  weekly  newspaper,  (German- 
town). 

The  Standard-Echo^  four  page  weekly  newspaper,  (since 
suspended). 

The  Tribune  is  the  chief  news  sheet  and  is  filled  generally 
with  social  notes  of  all  kinds,  and  news  of  movements 
among  Negroes  over  the  country.  Its  editorials  are  usually 
of  little  value  chiefly  because  it  does  not  employ  a  respon- 
sible editor.  It  is  in  many  ways  however  an  interesting 
paper  and  represents  pluck  and  perseverance  on  the 
part  of  its  publisher.  The  Astonisher  and  Standard 
Echo  are  news  sheets.  The  first  is  bright  but  crude. 
The  Recorder^  Banner  and  Journal  are  chiefly  filled 
with  columns  of  heavy  church  and  lodge  news.  The 
Review  has  had  an  interesting  history  and  is  probably  the 
best  Negro  periodical  of  the  sort  published;  it  is  often 
weighted  down  by  the  requirements  of  church  politics,  and 
compelled  to  publish  some  trash  written  by  aspiring  candi- 
dates for  office ;  but  with  all  this  it  has  much  solid  matter 
and  indicates  the  trend  of  thought  among  Negroes  to  some 
extent  It  has  greatly  improved  in  the  last  few  years. 
Many  Negro  newspapers  from  other  cities  circulate  here 
and  widen  the  feeling  of  community  among  the  colored 
people  of  the  city. 

One  other  kind  of  organization  has  not  yet  been  men- 
tioned, the  political  clubs,  of  which  there  are  probably 


330  Organised  Life  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  Xll. 

fifty  in  the  city.  They  will  be  considered  in  another 
chapter. 

35.  Institutions. — The  chief  Negro  institutions  of  the 
city  are  :  The  Home  for  Aged  and  Infirmed  Colored  Per- 
sons, the  Douglass  Hospital  and  Training  School,  the 
Woman's  Exchange  and  Girls'  Home,  three  cemetery 
companies,  the  Home  for  the  Homeless,  the  special  schools, 
as  the  Institute  for  Colored  Youth,  the  House  of  Industry, 
Raspberry  street  schools  and  Jones'  school  for  girls,  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  and  University  Extension  Centre. 

The  Home  for  the  Aged,  situated  at  the  comer  of  Girard 
and  Belmont  avenues,  was  founded  by  a  Negro  lumber 
merchant,  Steven  Smith,  and  is  conducted  by  whites  and 
Negroes.  It  is  one  of  the  best  institutions  of  the  kind;  its 
property  is  valued  at  $400,000,  and  it  has  an  annual 
income  of  $ao,ooo.  It  has  sheltered  558  old  people  since 
its  foundation  in  1864. 

The  Douglass  Memorial  Hospital  and  Training  School  is 
a  curious  example  of  the  difficult  position  of  Negroes :  for 
years  nearly  every  hospital  in  Philadelphia  has  sought  to 
exclude  Negro  women  from  the  course  in  nurse-training, 
and  no  Negro  physician  could  have  the  advantage  of 
hospital  practice.  This  led  to  a  movement  for  a  Negro 
hospital ;  such  a  movement  however  was  condemned 
by  the  whites  as  an  unnecessary  addition  to  a  bewilder- 
ing number  of  charitable  institutions  ;  by  many  of  the 
best  Negroes  as  a  concession  to  prejudice  and  a  draw- 
ing of  the  color  line.  Nevertheless  the  promoters 
insisted  that  colored  nurses  were  efficient  and  needed 
training,  that  colored  physicians  needed  a  hospital,  and 
that  colored  patients  wished  one.  Consequently  the  Doug- 
lass Hospital  has  been  established  and  its  success  seems  to 
warrant  the  effort.*' 


"  Since  the  opening   of  the   hospital   colored   nurses   have   had   less 
trouble   in    white    institutions,   and    one   colored    physician   has   been 


Sect  35.  ]  Institutions.  231 

''  The  total  income  for  the  year  1895-96  was  $4,656.31  j 
sixty-one  patients  were  treated  during  the  year,  and  thirty- 
two  operations  performed ;  987  out-patients  were  treated* 
The  first  class  of  nurses  was  graduated  in  1897. 

The  Woman's  Exchange  and  Girls'  Home  is  conducted 
by  the  principal  of  the  Institute  for  Colored  Youth  at  756 
South  Twelfth  street.  The  exchange  is  open  at  stated 
times  during  the  week,  and  various  articles  are  on  sale. 
Cheap  lodging  and  board  is  furnished  for  a  few  school 
girls  and  working  girls.  So  far  the  work  of  the  exchange 
has  been  limited  but  it  is  slowly  growing,  and  is  certainly 
a  most  deserving  venture.* 

The  exclusion  of  Negroes  from  cemeteries  has,  as  before 
mentioned,  led  to  the  organization  of  three  cemetery  com- 
panies, two  of  which  are  nearly  fifty  years  old.  The  Olive 
holds  eight  acres  of  property  in  the  Twenty-fourth  Ward, 
claimed  to  be  worth  $100,000.  It  has  900  lot  owners ;  the 
Lebanon  holds  land  in  the  Thirty-sixth  Ward,  worth  at 
least  '$75,000.  The  Merion  is  a  new  company  which 
owns  twenty-one  acres  in  Montgomery  County,  worth  per- 
haps $30,000.  These  companies  are  in  the  main  well- 
conducted,  although  the  aflFairs  of  one  are  just  now  some- 
what entangled. 

The  Home  for  the  Homeless  is  a  refuge  and  home  for 
the  aged  connected  with  the  Church  of  the  Crucifixion. 


appointed  intern  in  a  large  hospital.     Dr.  N.  P.  Mossell  was  chiefly 
instrumental  in  founding  the  Douglass  Hospital. 

*In  connection  with  this  work,  Bethel  Church  often  holds  smaU 
receptions  for  servant  girls  on  their  days  off,  when  refreshments  are 
served  and  a  pleasant  time  is  spent.  The  foUowing  is  a  note  of  a  similar 
enterprise  at  another  church:  ''The  members  of  the  Berean  Union 
have  opened  a  '  Y '  parlor,  where  young  colored  girls  employed  as  domes- 
tics can  spend,  their  Thursday  afternoon  both  pleasantly  and  profitably. 
The  parlor  is  open  from  4  until  10  p.  m.,  every  Thursday,  and  members 
of  the  Union  are  present  to  welcome  them.  A  light  supper  is  served  for 
ten  cents.  The  evening  is  spent  in  literary  exercises  and  social  talk» 
The  parlor  is  in  the  Berean  Church,  South  College  avenue,  near  Twen- 
tieth street." 


833  Organized  Life  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  XH, 

It  is  supported  largely  by  whites  but  not  entirely.  It  has 
an  income  of  about  $500.  During  1896,  1108  lodgings 
were  furnished  to  ninety  women,  8384  meals  given  to 
inmates,  2705  to  temporary  lodgers,  2078  to  transients,  and 
812  to  invalids. 

The  schools  have  all  been  mentioned  before.  The 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  has  had  a  checkered 
history,  chiefly  as  it  would  seem  from  the  wrong  policy 
pursued  ;  there  is  in  the  city  a  grave  and  dangerous  lack  of 
proper  places  of  amusement  and  recreation  for  young  men. 
To  fill  this  need  a  properly  conducted  Young  Men's 
Christiaa  Association,  with  books  and  newspapers,  baths, 
bowling  alleys  and  billiard  tables,  conversation  rooms  and 
short  interesting  religious  services  is  demanded;  it  would 
cost  far  less  than  it  now  costs  the  courts  to  pnnisb  the 
petty  misdemeanors  of  young  men  who  do  not  know  how  to 
amuse  themselves.  Instead  of  such  an  institution  however 
the  Colored  Y.  M.  C.  A.  has  been  virtually  an  attempt  to 
add  another  church  to  the  numberless  colored  churches  of 
the  city,  with  endless  prayer-meetings  and  loud  gospel 
hymns,  in  dingy  and  uninviting  quarters.  Consequently 
the  institution  is  now  temporarily  suspended.  It  had 
accomplished  some  good  work  by  its  night  schools,  and 
social  meetings. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  Bainbridge  Street  Univer- 
sity Extension  Centre,  May  10,  1895,  lectures  have  been 
delivered  at  the  Church  of  the  Crucifixion,  Eighth  and 
Bainbridge  streets,  by  Rev.  W.  Hudson  Shaw,  on  English 
History;  by  Thomas  Whitney  Surette,  on  the  Develop- 
ment of  Music;  by  Henry  W.  Elson,  on  American  His- 
tory, and  by  Hilaire  Belloc,  on  Napoleon.  Each  of  these 
lecturers,  except  Mr.  Belloc,  has  given  a  course  of  six 
lectures  on  the  subject  stated,  and  classes  have  been  held 
in  connection  with  each  course.  The  attendance  has 
been  above  the  average  as  compared  with  other  Centres 
in  the  city. 


1 


!Sect  36.]      The  Experiment  of  Organization.  233 

Beside  these  efforts  there  are  various  embryonic  institu- 
Ttions :  A  day  nursery  in  the  Seventh  Ward  by  the  Woman's 
Missionary  Society,  a  large  organization  which  does  much 
^charitable  work ;  an  industrial  school  near  the  city,  etc. 
There  are,  too,  many  institutions  conducted  by  whites  for 
ithe  benefit  of  Negroes,  which  will  be  mentioned  in  another 
jplace. 

Much  of  the  need  for  separate  Negro  institutions  has  in 
rthe  last  decade  disappeared,  by  reason  of  the  opening  of 
:the  doors  of  the  public  institutions  to  colored  people. 
There  are  many  Negroes  who  on  this  account  strongly 
♦oppose  eflForts  which  they  fear  will  tend  to  delay  further 
progress  in  these  lines.  On  the  other  hand,  thoughtful 
-jnen  see  that  invaluable  training  and  discipline  is  coming 
to  the  race  through  these  institutions  and  organizations,  and 
rthey  encourage  the  formation  of  them. 

36.  The  Experiment  of  Organization. — Looking  back 
over  the  field  which  we  have  thus  reviewed — the  churches, 
-.societies,  unions,  attempts  at  business  co-operation,  institu- 
tions and  newspapers — it  is  apparent  that  the  largest  hope 
for  the  ultimate  rise  of  the  Negro  lies  in  this  mastery  of 
Ihe  art  of  social  organized  life.  To  be  sure,  compared 
with  his  neighbors,  he  has  as  yet  advanced  but  a  short 
distance;  we  are  apt  to  condemn  this  lack  of  unity,  the 
.absence  of  carefully  planned  and  laboriously  executed 
cflFort  among  these  people,  as  a  voluntary  omission — a  bit 
of  carelessness.  It  is  far  more  than  this,  it  is  lack  of  social 
education,  of  group  training,  and  the  lack  can  only  be  sup- 
plied by  a  long,  slow  process  of  growth.  And  the  chief 
value  of  the  organizations  studied  is  that  they  are 
evidences  of  growth.  Of  actual  accomplishment  they 
Tiave,  to  be  sure,  something  to  show,  but  nothing  to  boast 
of  inordinately.  The  churches  are  far  from  ideal  asso- 
ciations for  fostering  the  higher  life — rather  they  combine 
too  often  intrigue,  extravagance  and  show,  with  all  their 
'•work,  saving  and  charity ;  their  secret  societies  are  often 


234  Organised  Life  of  Negroes.       [Chap.  XII. 

diverted  from  their  better  ends  ^by  scheming  and  dishonest 
officers,  and  by  the  temptation  of  tinsel  and  braggadocio ; 
their  beneficial  associations,  along  with  all  their  good  work^ 
have  an  unenviable  record  of  business  inefficiency  and 
internal  dissension.     And  yet  all  these  and  the  other  agen- 
cies have  accomplished  much,  and  their  greatest  accom- 
plishment is  stimulation  of  effort  to  further  and  more 
effective  organization  among  a  disorganized  and  headless 
host.     All    this  world  of  cooperation  and  subordination 
into  which  the  white  child  is  in  most  cases  bom  is,  we^ 
must  not  forget,  new  to  the  slave's  sons.     They  have  been  ( 
compelled  to  organize  before  they  knew  the  meaning  of  / 
organization ;  to  co-operate  with  those  of  their  fellows  to/ 
whom  co-operation  was  an  unknown  term  ;  to  fix  and  fasten! 
ideas  of  leadership  and  authority  among  those  who  had! 
always  looked  to  others  for  guidance  and  command.    For  ^ 
these  reasons  the  present  efforts  of  Negroes  in  working 
together  along  various  lines  are  peculiarly  promising  for 
^the  future  of  both  races. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE   NEGRO  CRIMINAL. 

37.  History  of  Negro  Crime  in  the  City.* — From  his 
earliest  advent  the  Negro,  as  was  natural,  has  figured 
largely  in  the  criminal  annals  of  Philadelphia.  Only  such 
superficial  study  of  the  American  Negro  as  dates  his 
beginning  with  1863  can  neglect  this  past  record  of  crime 
in  studying  the  present  Crime  is  a  phenomenon  of  organ- 
ized social  life,  and  is  the  open  rebellion  of  an  individual 
against  his  social  environment  Naturally  then,  if  men 
are  suddenly  transported  from  one  environment  to  another, 
the  result  is  lack  [of  harmony  with  the  new  conditions ; 
lack  of  harmony  with  the  new  physical  surroundings  lead- 
ing to  disease  and  death  or  modification  of  physique ;  lack 
of  harmony  with  social  surroundings  leading  to  crime. 
Thus  very  early  in  the  history  of  the  colony  characteristic 
complaints  of  the  disorder  of  the  Negro  slaves  is  heard. 
In  1693,  July  II,  the  Governor  and  Council  approved  an 
ordinance,  "  Upon  the  Request  of  some  of  the  members  of 
Council,  that  an  order  be  made  by  the  Court  of  Quarter 
Sessions  for  the  Countie  of  Philadelphia,  the  4th  July 
instant  (proceeding  upon  a  presentment  of  the  Grand  Jurie 
for  the  bodie  of  the  sd  countie),  agt  the  tumultuous  gath- 
erings of  the  Negroes  of  the  towne  of  Philadelphia,  on  the 


^Thronghout  this  chapter  the  basis  of  induction  is  the  number  of 
prisoners  received  at  dififerent  institutions  and  not  the  prison  population 
at  particular  times.  This  ayoids  the  mistakes  and  distortions  of  the 
latter  method.  (Cf.  Falkner :  ''  Crime  and  the  Census ; "  Publications 
of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science,  No.  190)* 
Many  writers  on  Crime  among  Negroes,  as  ^.  ^.,  F.  L.  Hoffman,  and  aU 
who  use  the  Eleventh  Census  uncritically,  have  fallen  into  numerous 
mistakes  and  exaggerations  by  carelessness  on  this  point. 

(235) 


■336  The  Negro  Criminal.  [Chap.  XIII. 

first  dayes  of  the  weeke,  ordering  the  Constables  of  Phila- 
delphia, or  anie  other  person  whatsoever,  to  have  power  to 
take  lip  Negroes,  male  or  female,  whom  they  should  find 
g;addmg  abroad  on  the  said  first  dayes  of  the  weeke,  with- 
out a  ticket  from  their  Mr.  or  Mris.,  or  not  in  their  Compa, 
or  to  carry  them  to  gaole,  there  to  remain  that  night,  and 
that  without  meat  or  drink,  and  to  Cause  them  to  be  pub- 
lickly  whipt  next  morning  with  39  Lashes,  well  Laid  on, 
on  their  bare  backs,  for  which  their  sd.  Mr.  or  Mris.  should 
pay  i5d.  to  the  whipper,"  etc. ' 

Penn  himself  introduced  a  law  for  the  special  trial  and 
punishment  of  Negroes  ver>-  early  in  the  history  of  the 
colony,  as  has  been  noted  before."  The  slave  code  finally 
adopted  was  mild  compared  with  the  legislation  of  the 
period,  but  it  was  severe  enough  to  show  the  unruly  char- 
acter of  many  of  the  imported  slaves.' 

Especially  in  Philadelphia  did  the  Negroes  continue  to 
give  general  trouble,  not  so  much  by  serious  crime  as  by 
disorder.  In  1732,  under  Mayor  Hasel,  the  City  Council 
"  taking  under  Consideration  the  frequent  and  tumultuous 
meetings  of  the  Negro  Slaves,  especially  on  Sunday,  Gam- 
ing, Cursing,  Swearing,  and  committing  many  other  Dis- 
orders, to  the  great  Terror  and  Disquiet  of  the  Inhabitants 
of  this  city,"  ordered  an  ordinance  to  be  drawn  up  against 
such  disturbances.'  Again,  six  years  later,  we  hear  of  the 
draft  of  another  city  ordinance  for  "  the  more  Efiectual 
suppressing  Tumultuous  meetings  and  other  disorderly 
doings  of  the  Negroes,  Mulattos  and  Indian  servts.  and 
slaves."'  And  in  1741,  August  17,  "frequent  complaints 
having  been  made  to  the  Board  that  many  disorderly  per- 
sons meet  every  ev'g  about  the  Court  house  of  this  city, 

•"PeDnsylvania  Colonial  Record*,"  I.  380-81, 

'See  Chapter  III,  and  Appendix  B. 

*  Cf.  "Peunaylvania  Statutes  at  Large,"  Ch.  56. 

'  "  Watson's  Aaoala,"  I,  61. 

'Ibid. 


Sect  37.]  History  of  Negro  Crime.  237 

and  great  numbers  of  Negroes  and  others  sit  there  with 
milk  pails  and  other  things  late  at  night,  and  many  disor- 
ders are  there  committed  against  the  peace  and  good  gov- 
ernment of  this  city,"  Council  ordered  the  place  to  be 
cleared  "  in  half  an  hour  after  sunset."  ^ 

Of  the  graver  crimes  by  Negroes  we  have  only  reports 
here  and  there  which  do  not  make  it  clear  how  frequently 
such  crimes  occurred.  In  1706  a  slave  is  arrested  for 
setting  fire  to  a  dwelling;  in  1738  three  Negroes  are 
hanged  in  neighboring  parts  of  New  Jersey  for  poisoning 
people,  while  at  Rocky  Hill  a  slave  is  burned  alive  for 
killing  a  child  and  burning  a  bam.  Whipping  of  Negroes 
at  the  public  whipping  post  was  frequent,  and  so  severe 
was  the  punishment  that  in  1743  a  slave  brought  up  to  be 
whipped  committed  suicide.  In  1762  two  Philadelphia 
slaves  were  sentenced  to  death  for  felony  and  burglary ;. 
petitions  were  circulated  in  their  behalf  but  Council  was 
obdurate.* 

Little  special  mention  of  Negro  crime  is  again  met  with 
until  the  freedmen  under  the  act  of  1780  began  to  congre- 
gate in  the  city  and  other  free  immigrants  joined  them. 
In  1809  the  leading  colored  churches  united  in  a  society  to 
suppress  crime  and  were  cordially  endorsed  by  the  public 
for  this  action.  After  the  war  immigration  to  the  city 
increased  and  the  stress  of  hard  times  bore  heavily  on  the 
lower  classes.  Complaints  of  petty  thefts  and  murderous 
assaults  on  peaceable  citizens  now  began  to  increase,  and 
in  numbers  of  cases  they  were  traced  to  Negroes.  The  better 
class  of  colored  citizens  felt  the  accusation  and  held  a 
meeting  to  denounce  crime  and  take  a  firm  stand  against 
their  own  criminal  class.  A  little  later  the  Negro  riots 
commenced,  and  they  received  their  chief  moral  support 
from   the   increasing   crime  of  Negroes;  a  Cuban  slave 

»/(W</.,  pp.  62-63. 

•"Pennsylvania  Colonial  Records,**  II,  275;  IX,  6;   **  Watson's  An-^ 
sals,"  I,  309. 


»38 


The  Negro  Criminal.  [Chap.  XIII. 


brained  his  master  with  a  hatchet,  two  other  murders  by 
Negroes  followed,  and  gambling,  drnnkenness  and  debauch- 
ery were  widespread  wherever  Negroes  settled.  The 
terribly  vindictive  insurrection  of  Nat  Turner  in  a  neigh- 
boring State  frightened  the  citizens  so  thoroughly  that 
when  some  black  fugitives  actually  arrived  at  Chester  from 
Southampton  County,  Virginia,  the  I,egislature  was 
hastily  appealed  to,  and  the  whole  matter  came  to  a  climax 
in  the  disfranchisement  of  the  Negro  in  1837,  and  the  riots 
in  the  years  1830  to  1840.* 

Some  actual  figures  will  give  us  an  idea  of  this,  the 
worst  period  of  Negro  crime  ever  experienced  in  the  city. 
The  Eastern  Penitentiary  was  opened  in  1839  near  the  close 
of  the  year.  The  total  number  of  persons  received  here  for 
the  most  serious  crimes  is  given  in  the  next  table.  This 
includes  prisoners  from  the  Eastern  counties  of  the  State, 
but  a  large  proportion  were  from  Philadelphia  : '" 


1819-34 . 
1835-39  ■ 
1840-44 . 
1845-49 . 
1850-54 . 


FopulAtJon. 


8.37(1830) 
7.39(1840) 
7.39(1840) 
483  (1850 
4.83  ( 1850) 


Or  to  put  it  differently  the  problem  of  Negro  crime  in 
Philadelphia  from  1830  to  1850  arose  from  the  fact  that 
less  than  one-fourteenth  of  the  population  was  responsible 
for  nearly  a  third  of  the  serious  crimes  committed. 

These  figures  however  are  apt  to  relate  more  especially 
to  a  criminal  class,  A  better  measure  of  the  normal 
criminal  tendencies  of  the  group  would  perhaps  be  found 
in  the  statistics  of  Moyameusing,  where  ordinary  cases  of 
crime  and  misdemeanor  are  confined  and  which  contains 


•  Cf.  Chapter  IV. 

>°  Reports  Eastera  Feniteutiary. 


Sect  37.] 


History  oj  Negro  Crime. 


239 


only  county  prisoners.      The  figures  for  Moyamensing 
prison  are : 


Yean. 


183M5 
1846-55 


Total 


Total 

White 

Prisoners 

Received. 

ToUl 

Negro 

Prisoners 

Received. 

Per  Cent 

of  Negroes 

of  Totol 

Prisoners. 

1 164 
1478 

1087 
696 

48.29 
32.01 

2643 

1783 

•       •       • 

Per  Cent  of 
Negroes 
of  Total 

Population. 

7.39  ( 1840) 
4.83(1850) 


Here  we  have  even  a  worse  showing  than  before ;  in 
1896  the  Negroes  forming  4  per  cent  of  the  population  fur- 
nish 9  per  cent  of  the  arrests,  but  in  1850  being  5  per  cent 
of  the  population  they  furnished  32  per  cent  of  the  prisoners 
received  at  the  county  prison.  Of  course  there  are  some 
considerations  which  must  not  be  overlooked  in  interpreting 
these  figures  for  1836-55.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
the  discrimination  against  the  Negro  was  much  greater 
then  than  now :  he  was  arrested  for  less  cause  and  given 
longer  sentences  than  whites."  Great  numbers  of  those 
arrested  and  committed  for  trial  were  never  brought  to  trial 
so  that  their  guilt  could  not  be  proven  or  disproven ;  of 
737  Negroes  committed  for  trial  in  six  months  of  the  year 
1837,  it  is  stated  that  only  123  were  actually  brought  to 
trial ;  of  the  prisoners  in  the  Eastern  Penitentiary,  1829  ^^ 
1846,  14  per  cent  of  the  whites  were  pardoned  and  2  per 
cent  of  the  Negroes.  All  these  considerations  increase  the 
statistics  to  the  disfavor  of  the  Negro."  Nevertheless 
making  all  reasonable  allowances  it  is  undoubtedly  true 
that  the  crime  of  Negroes  in  this  period  reached  its  high 
tide  for  this  city. 

The  character  of  the  crimes  committed  by  Negroes 
compared  with  whites  is  shown  by  the  following  table, 


^^  Average  length  of  sentences  for  whites  in  Eastern  Penitentiary 
during  nineteen  years,  2  years  8  months  2  days ;  for  Negroes,  3  years 
3  months  14  days.     Cf.  '*  Health  of  Convicts  *'  (pam.),  pp.  7,  8. 

"/*«/.,  "Condition  of  Negroes,"  1838,  pp.  15-18;  "Condition,"  etc., 
1848,  pp.  26,  27. 


340 


The  Negro  Criminal. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


which  covers  the  offences  of  1359  whites  and  718  Negroes 
committed  to  the  Eastern  Penitentiary,  1829-1846.  If  we 
take  simply  petty  larceny  we  find  that  48.8  per  cent  of  the 
whites,  and  55  per  cent  of  the  Negroes  were  committed  for 
this  offence,'^ 


Whll«, 

Megroa. 

Number. 

PerCeEt. 

Number 

Percent. 

Offences  I'l.  the  person 

Offences  vs.  property  with  violence    . 
Offences  vs.  property  without  violence 
Malicious  offences  vs.  property    .   .    . 
Offences  vs.  Currency  and  forgery  ,    . 
Miscellaneous 

j66 

191 
873 

22 

167 
40 

11.4 

Si 

11.5 
27.0 

43» 
U 
7 

ia.4 

Go.a 

1.3 

All  offences 

1359 

100 

718 

100 

38.  Negro  Crime  Since  the  War. — Throughout  the 
land  there  has  been  since  the  war  a  large  increase  in  crime,. 
especially  in  cities.  This  phenomenon  would  seem  to 
have  sufficient  cause  in  the  increased  complexity  of  life, 
in  industrial  competition,  and  the  rush  of  great  numbers 
to  the  large  cities.  It  would  therefore  be  natural  to  sup- 
pose that  the  Negro  would  also  show  this  increase  in 
criminality  and,  as  in  the  case  of  all  lower  classes,  that  he 
would  show  it  in  greater  degree.  His  evolution  has,  how- 
ever, been  marked  by  some  peculiarities.  For  nearly  two 
decades  after  emancipation  he  took  little  part  in  many  of 
the  great  social  movements  about  him  for  obvious  reasons. 
His  migration  to  city  life,  therefore,  and  his  sharing  in  the 
competition  of  modern  industrial  life,  came  later  than  was 
the  case  with  the  mass  of  his  fellow  citizens.  The  Negro 
began  to  rush  to  the  cities  in  large  numbers  after  1880, 
and  consequently  the  phenomena  attendant  on  that 
momentous  change  of  life  are  tardier  in  his  case.  His  rate 
of  criminality  has  in  the  last  two  decades  risen  rapidly, 
and  this  is  a  parallel  'phenomenon  to  the  rapid  rise  of  the 


"  "Condition  of  Negroes,"  1849,  pp.  a8,  29.     "  Conditi 
pp.  15-18. 


Sect  38.]       Negro  Crime  Since  the  War.  241 

white  criminal  record  two  or  three  decades  ago.  Moreover, 
in  the  case  of  the  Negro  there  were  special  causes  for  the 
prevalence  of  crime :  he  had  lately  been  freed  from  serf- 
dom, he  was  the  object  of  stinging  oppression  and  ridicule, 
and  paths  of  advancement  open  to  many  were  closed  to 
him.  Consequently  the  class  of  the  shiftless,  aimless,  idle, 
discouraged  and  disappointed  was  proportionately  larger. 

In  the  city  of  Philadelphia  the  increasing  number  of 
bold  and  daring  crimes  committed  by  Negroes  in  the  last 
ten  years  has  focused  the  attention  of  the  city  on  this  sub- 
ject There  is  a  widespread  feeling  that  something  is 
wrong  with  a  race  that  is  responsible  for  so  much  crime, 
and  that  strong  remedies  are  called  for.  One  has  but  to 
visit  the  corridors  of  the  public  buildings,  when  the  courts 
are  in  session,  to  realize  the  part  played  in  law-breaking  by 
the  Negro  population.  The  various  slum  centres  of  the 
colored  criminal  population  have  lately  been  the  objects  of 
much  philanthropic  effort,  and  the  work  there  has  aroused 
discussion.  Judges  on  the  bench  have  discussed  the  mat- 
ter. Indeed,  to  the  minds  of  many,  this  is  the  real  Negro 
problem." 

That  it  is  a  vast  problem  a  glance  at  statistics  will 
show  ;^  and  since  1 880  it  has  been  steadily  growing.  At 
the  same  time  crime  is  a  difficult  subject  to  study,  more 


u  «  The  large  proportion  of  colored  men  who,  in  April,  had  been  before 
the  criminal  court,  led  Judge  Gordon  to  make  a  suggestion  when  he  yes- 
terday discharged  the  jurors  for  the  term.  '  It  would  certainly  seem, '  said 
the  Court,  '  that  the  philanthropic  colored  people  of  the  community,  of 
whom  there  are  a  great  many  excellent  and  intelligent  citizens  sincerely 
interested  in  the  welfare  of  their  race,  ought  to  see  what  is  radically 
wrong  that  produces  this  state  of  affairs  and  correct  it,  if  possible. 
There  is  nothing  in  history  that  indicates  that  the  colored  race  has  a  pro- 
pensity to  acts  of  violent  crime;  on  the  contrary,  their  tendencies  are 
most  gentle,  and  they  submit  with  grace  to  subordination.'  "  Philadel- 
phia Recordy  AprU  29,  1893;  Cf.  Record^  May  10  and  12;  Ledger^  May  loy 
and  TimeSy  May  22,  1893. 

**  Except  as  otherwise  noted,  the  statistics  of  this  section  are  from  the 
official  reports  of  the  police  department 

16 


M» 


The  Negro  Criminal.  [Chap.  XIII, 


difficult  to  analyze  into  its  sociological  elements,  and  most 
difficult  to  cure  or  suppress.  It  is  a  phenomenon  that 
stands  not  alone,  but  rather  as  a  symptom  of  countless 
wrong  social  conditions. 

The  simplest,  but  crudest,  measure  of  crime  is  found 
in  the  total  arrests  for  a  period  of  years.  The  value  of 
such  figures  is  lessened  by  the  varying  efficiency  and  dili- 
gence of  the  police,  by  discrimination  in  the  administration 
of  law,  and  by  unwarranted  arrests.  And  yet  the  figures 
roughly  measure  crime.  The  total  arrests  and  the  number 
of  Negroes  is  given  in  the  next  table  for  thirty-two  years, 
with  a  few  omissions  : 

Arrbsts  in  Phiij^delphia,  1S64-96. 


43.M6 

38,749 
3",717 
30,400 
32i"4 
34.553 


44.aio 
40,714 
44,097 
45.129 
46,130 
45,295 
49,468 
51.418 


57.951 
46,899 
42,673 
49.148 
53. '84 
52,944 
57.297 
61,478 
60.347 
58.072 


3.167 
3.544 
3.431 


5.  II 
4-73 

4.46 


6.44 
6.66 
6.4a 


We  find  that  the  total  arrests  in  the  city  per  annum  have 
isen  from  34,221  in  1864  to  61,478  in  1894,  an  increase  of 


Sect  38.]        Negro  Crime  Since  the  War.  243 

80  per  cent  in  crime,  parallel  to  an  increase  of  85  per  cent 
in  population.  The  Negroes  arrested  have  increased  from 
31 14  in  1864  to  4805  in  1894,  an  increase  of  54  per  cent  in 
crime,  parallel  to  an  increase  of  77  per  cent  in  the  Negro 
population  of  the  city.  So,  too,  the  percentage  of  Negroes 
in  the  total  arrests  is  less  in  1894  than  in  1864.  If,  how- 
ever, we  follow  the  years  between  these  two  dates  we  see 
an  important  development :  1864  ^^  ^^  ^^^^  bounding 
^the  ante-bellum  period  of  crime;  thereafter  the  proportion  of 
Negro  arrests  fell  steadily  until,  in  1874,  the  Negroes  came 
as  nearly  as  ever  furnishing  their  normal  quota  of 
arrests,  3.9  per  cent  from  3.28  per  cent  (1870)  of  the  popu- 
lation. Then  slowly  there  came  a  change.  With  the 
Centennial  Exposition  in  1876  came  a  stream  of  immi- 
grants, and  once  started  the  stream  increased  in  speed  by 
its  own  momentum.  With  this  immigration  the  propor- 
tion of  Negro  arrests  arose  rapidly  at  first  as  a  result  of  the 
exposition ;  falling  off  a  little  in  the  early  eighties,  but  with 
1885  rising  again  steadily  and  quickly  to  over  6  per  cent 
in  1888,  6.4  per  cent  in  1890,  7  per  cent  in  1893,  8.5  per 
cent  in  1895,  9  per  cent  in  1896.  This  is,  as  has  been  said 
before,  but  a  rough  indication  of  the  amount  of  crime  for 
which  the  Negro  is  responsible ;  it  must  not  be  relied  on 
too  closely,  for  the  number  of  arrests  cannot  in  any  city 
accurately  measure  wrongdoing  save  in  a  very  general  way; 
probably  increased  efficiency  in  the  police  force  since  1864 
has  had  large  effect ;  and  yet  we  can  draw  the  legitimate 
conclusion  here  that  Negro  crime  in  the  city  is  far  less, 
according  to  population,  than  before  the  war ;  that  after  the 
war  it  decreased  until  the  middle  of  the  seventies  and  then, 
coincident  with  the  beginning  of  the  new  Negro  immigra- 
tion to  cities,^*  it  has  risen  pretty  steadily. 

These  same  phenomena  can  be  partially  verified  by  sta- 
tistics of  Moyamensing  prison.     If  we  take  the  tried  and 


"  Cf.  Chapters  IV  and  VII. 


244 


The  Negro  CriminaL  [Chap.  XIII. 


untried  prisoners  committed  to  this  county  prison  from 
1876  to  1895  we  find  the  same  gradual  increase  of  crime  : 

MOYAMBNSZNG  PRISON. 

Both  Tried  and  Untried  IVisaners, 


Date. 


1876  ... 

1877  .  .  .  , 

1878  .  .  .  . 

1879  ... 

1880  .  .  .  . 

1881  .  .  .  . 

1882  ...  . 

1883  ...  . 

1884  .  .  .  . 

1885  ...  . 

1886  ..  . 

1887  ...  . 

1888  .  .  .  . 

1889  ... 

1890  .  .  .  . 
X891  .  .  .  . 

1892  .  .  .  . 

1893  .  . 

1894  ... 

1895  »>  ' 

Total 

1876-1885 
1886-1895 


ToUl 

Receptions 

Negroes. 

21,736 

1.530 

22,666 

1,460 

22,147 

1.356 

20,736 

1.136 

22,487 

1.030 

22,478 

1,168 

24»i76 

1,274 

23,245 

I.175 

25,081 

1,218 

24.725 

1.427 

27.286 

1.708 

28.964 

1,724 

21,399 
18.476 

1.399 
1.338 

20,582 

1,611 

22,745 

1.723 

22,460 

1,900 

25.209 

2,234 

25,777 

2,452 

22,584 

2,317 

464,959 

31,180 

229,477 

12.774 

235.482 

18,406 

Percent 
of  Negroes. 


7.8 
6.44 

6.12 

5.48 
4.58 

5.19 
5.27 

5.05 
4.86 

5.77 
6.26 

5.97 
6.54 

7.24 

7.83 

7.57 

8.46 

a86 

9.51 
ia26 


6.70 


5.57 
7.81 


If  we  compare  in  this  table  the  period  1876-85  with  that 
of  1886-95  we  find  that  the  proportion  of  Negro  criminals 
in  the  first  period  was  5.6  per  cent,  in  the  second  7.8  per 
cent. 

The  statistics  of  inmates  of  the  House  of  Correction, 
where  mild  cases  and  juveniles  are  sent,  for  the  last  few  years 
go  to  tell  the  same  tale : 


Year. 


189I 
1892 

1893 
1894 

1895 


ToUl 
Receptions 

Negroes. 

5907 
5297 

•        • 

6579 
I       7548 

274 
254 

•       ■ 

I055 
672 

Percentage 
of  Negroes. 


4.6 

4.8 

•        • 

16.0 
8.9 


Sect  38.]         Negro  Crime  Since  the  War. 


H$ 


Gathering  up  the  statistics  presented  let  us  make  a 
lOUgh  diagram  of  some  of  the  results.  First  let  us  scan 
the  record  of  the  Negro  in  serious  crime,  such  as  entails 
incarceration  in  the  Eastern  Penitentiary.  In  these  figures 
ie  Philadelphia  convicts  are  not  separated  from  those  in 
the  eastern  counties  of  the  state  prior  to  1885.  A  large 
proportion  of  the  prisoners  however  are  from  Philadelphia ; 
perhaps  the  net  result  of  the  error  is  somewhat  to  reduce  the 
apparent  proportion  of  N^;roes  in  the  earlier  years. 
Taking  then  the  proportion  of  Negro  prisoners  received  to 
total  receptions  since  the  founding  of  the  Penitentiary  we 
have  this  diagram : 

Fkofortiom  or  Nkoross  to  Totai.  Coirvins  Rsckivbi}  at  thb 
EaSTKKN  PBMITItinnARY,  1839-1895. 


50 
40 

— 

A 

J 

\ 

\ 

N 

/ 

10 

\ 

/ 

^ 

s_ 

s.. 

■^ 

— 

•-. 

J 

~ 

~ 

~~ 

W90    IBSC    IMO  IB4S    IB50  I85S    IS60   ia6S  1ST0   WT5  jeao  I 

~^~FMPOI»TI0»«0f  NtCllOTO  TOTAL^CfUMINALS, 


The  general  rate  of  criminality  may  be  graphically  repre- 
sented from  the  proportion  of  Negroes  in  the  county  prison, 


r 


446 


The  Negro  Criminal.  [Chap.  XIII. 


although  changes  in  the_  policy  of  the  courts  make  the 
validity  of  this  somewhat  uncertain  : 


V- 5K 

\ 

': ss 

>, 

it59  iSo  1650  iaeo  iflTo  iflgi  iNO 


It  thus  seems  certain"  that  general  criminality  as 
represented  by  commitments  to  the  county  prison  has 
decreased  markedly  since  1840,  and  that  its  rapid  increase 
since  1880  leaves  it  still  far  behind  the  decade  1830  to  1840. 
Serious  crime  as  represented  by  commitments  to  the  peni- 
tentiary shows  a  similar  decrease  but  one  not  so  marked 
indicating  the  presence  of  a  pretty  distinct   criminal  class. 

■■■The  chief  dement  of  uncertainty  lies  in  the  varyiag  policy  of  the 
courts,  as  for  instance,  in  the  proportion  of  prisoners  sent  to  different 
places  of  detention,  the  severity  of  sentence,  etc  Only  the  general 
conclusions  are  insisted  on  bere. 


Sect  38.]        Negro  Crime  Since  the  War. 


247 


Convicts  Committbd  to  ths  Eastern  Pbnithntia&y. 


Tears. 


1835-39 
1855-59 
1860-64 
1865-69 
1870-74 

X875-79 
1880-84 

I885-89* 
X890-95' 


Total  Com- 

mitments. 

Negroes. 

878 

356 

941 

126 

909 

129 

1474 

179 

I29I 

174 

2347 

275 

2282 

308 

1585 

223 

1418 

318 

Percentage 
of  Negroes. 

40.5 

13.4 
14.2 

12. 1 

13.4 
II.7 

135 
14.09 

22.43 


*Only  convicts  from  Philadelphia;  the  statistics  for  the  year  1891  are  not  available 
and  arc  omitted. 

The  record  of  arrests  per  looo  of  Negro  population 
1864  to  1896  seems  to  confirm  these  conclusions  for  that 
period: 


ISOtoM 
BSIteM 


no  tain 


68 


aOPliM 


8d^M 


1415 
\ 


\ 


\ 


^; 


94 
\ 


■V 


i 

/ 


119. 


L 


1665  1870  1875  !880  1665  1690 

NEGRO  ARRESTS  TO  EVERY    1000  OF  NEGRO   POPULATION. 

1000 


50 


1895 


WHITE 


WHITE 


The  increase  in  crime  between  1890  and  1895  is  not 
without  pretty  adequate  explanation  in  the  large  Negro 


348 


The  Negro  Criminal.  [Chap.  XIII. 


immigration  cityward  and  especially  in  "  the  terrible 
business  depression  of  1893"  to  which  the  police  bureau 
attributes  the  increase  of  arrests.  The  effect  of  this  would 
naturally  be  greater  among  the  economic  substrata. 

This  brings  us  to  the  question,  Who  are  the  Negro 
criminals  and  what  crimes  do  they  commit?  To  obtain 
an  answer  to  this  query  let  us  make  a  special  study  of  a 
typical  group  of  criminals. 

39.  A  Special  Study  in  Crime," — During  ten  years 
previous  to  and  including  1895,  there  were  committed  to 
the  Eastern  Penitentiary,  the  following  prisoners  from  the 
city  of  Philadelphia ; 


Date. 

Tol»1  Con- 
rlcliooa. 

NeBToa. 

perCntof 

313 
347 
363 
269 
391 
371 

i 

40 
45 
53 
39 
46 
63 

4a 
70 

13.78 
ia.97 
1460 
T4.49 
15.81 

nn 

19.71 
3313 

ao.97 
14.56 

14.9 

■89a 

1893 

"894 

■895 

ai.43 

3  average. 


■  6tsti([icB  for  this  year  were  not  aiklUble.  Thraugboot  thU  section,  Iheretbre, 
[hi*  yetr  li  omitted. 

Let  US  now  take  the  541  Negroes  who  have  been  the 
perpetrators  of  the  serious  crimes  charged  to  their  race 
during  the  last  ten  years  and  see  what  we  may  learn. 
These  are  all  criminals  convicted  after  trial  for  periods 

"For  the  collectioQ  of  the  material  here  compiled.  I  am  indebted  to 
Mr.  David  N.  Fell,  Jr. ,  a  student  of  the  Senior  Class,  Wharton  School, 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the  year  'gS-'g?.  As  before  noted  the 
figures  in  this  Section  refer  to  the  number  of  prisoners  received  at  the 
Eastern  Penitentiary,  and  not  to  the  total  prison  population  at  «D,y  par- 


Sect  39.]  A  Special  Study  in  Crime.  249 

varying  from  six  months  Xo  forty  years.  It  seems  plain  in 
the  first  place  that  the  4  per  cent  of  the  population  of 
Philadelphia  having  Negro  blood  furnished  from  1885  to 
1889,  ^4  P^^  c^^^  o^  ^^  serious  crimes,  and  from  1890  to 
1895,  ^^}^  V^^  ctnL  This  of  course  assumes  that  the 
convicts  in  the  penitentiary  represent  with  a  fair  degree  of 
accuracy  the  crime  committed.  The  assumption  is  not 
wholly  true;  in  convictions  by  human  courts  the  rich 
always  are  favored  somewhat  at  the  expense  of  the  poor, 
the  upper  classes  at  the  expense  of  the  unfortunate 
classes,  and  whites  at  the  expense  of  Negroes.  We  know 
for  instance  that  certain  crimes  are  not  punished  in  Phila- 
delphia because  the  public  opinion  is  lenient,  as  for 
instance  embezzlement,  forgery,  and  certain  sorts  of 
stealing;  on  the  other  hand  a  commercial  community 
is  apt  to  punish  with  severity  petty  thieving,  breaches  of 
the  peace,  and  personal  assault  or  burglary.  It  happens, 
too,  that  the  prevailing  weakness  of  ex-slaves  brought  up 
in  the  communal  life  of  the  slave  plantation,  without 
acquaintanceship  with  the  institution  of  private  property, 
is  to  commit  the  ^ery  crimes  which  a  great  centre  of 
commerce  like  Philadelphia  especially  abhors.  We  must 
add  to  this  the  influences  of  social  position  and  connections 
in  procuring  whites  pardons  or  lighter  sentences.  It  has 
been  charged  by  some  Negroes  that  color  prejudice  plays 
:Some  part,  but  there  is  no  tangible  proof  of  this,  save 
perhaps  that  there  is  apt  to  be  a  certain  presumption  of 
^ilt  when  a  Negro  is  accused,  on  the  part  of  police,  public 
and  judge."  All  these  considerations  modify  somewhat 
-our  judgment  of  the  moral  status  of  the  mass  of  Negroes. 
And  yet,  with  all  allowances,  there  remains  a  vast  problem 
of  crime. 

The  chief  crimes  for  which  these  prisoners  were  con- 
victed were : 


^  Witness  the  case  of  Marion  Stuyvesant  accused  of  the  murder  of  the 
librarian,  Wilson,  in  1897. 


TTte  Negro  CriminaL  [Chap.  XIIL 

Theft 143 

Serions  asBaults  on  persons 139 

Kobbery  and  burglary 83 

Rape 24 

Other  lexnBl  crimes 23 


AH  other  a 


16 


Following  these  crimes  from  year  to  year  we  have : 


Crime. 

1 

1 

i 

i 

1 

1 

% 

1 

1 

8 
37 

3 
3 

1 

Theft,  etc 

Robbery  nnd  burglary  ,  .  . 

-Serious  assaults 

Homidde 

Sexual  Crimea 

All  others 

\ 

9 
'7 

3 
7 

13 
5 

14 
5 
9 

5 
4 

39 

7 
9 

4 

3= 
14 

■? 

32 

3 
3 

1^ 

47 

Total      

40 

45 

53 

40 

47 

64 

42 

73 

67 

70 

341 

The  course  of  the  total  serious  crime  for  this  period  may 
be  illustrated  by  this  diagram:  , 


Drawing  a  similar  ^diagram  for  the  different  sorts  of 
crime  we  have : , 


Sect  39.]  A  special  Study  in  Crime. 


In  tea  years  convictions  to  the  penitentiary  for  theft 
have  somewhat  increased,  robbery,  burglary  and  assault 
have  considerably  increased,  homicide  has  remained  about 
the  same,  and  sexual  crimes  have  decreased.  Detailed 
statistics  are  given  in  the  following  table: 
Crimbs  of  541  Convicts  in  Eastkrm  Pknithntiarv,  1885-1895. 


«.„. 

3 

i 

i 

i 

i 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

Aaaault  and  battery 

Aggravated  assault  and  battery  .   . 

I 

7 

33 
3 

'i 
'4 

i 

1 
3 

H 
5 

6 
5 

39 
4 
S 

3 

I 

■ 

4 

1 

17 
2, 
4 

3 

; 

2 

I 

■ 
I 

Manslaughter 

Assault  to  murder 

Assault  to  steal   ... 

30 

3 

5 

6 

Robbed 

Rape      . 

Attempt  to  rape 

Incest 

Keepinjf  bawdy  house 

Enticing  female  child 

Carrying  concealed  weapons  .    .    . 

Receiving  stolen  goods 

Mayhem    

Indecent  exposure 

1 

Tot«l.    .    .               ... 

4D 

4S 

53 

40 

47 

H 

4* 

67 

70 

252  The  Negro  Criminal.  [Chap.  XIII. 

The  total  crime  can  be  classified  also  in  this  way : 

Crimes  against  property 328  60.63  P^'  cent. 

**           **       persons 157  29.02       '* 

•*           "       persons  and  property .  8        1.4S       ** 

Sexual  crimes 48       8.87       " 

541     100.     percent. 

Let  US  now  turn  from  the  crime  to  the  criminals.  497  of 
them  (91.87  per  cent)  were  males  and  44  (8.13  per  cent) 
were  females.  296  (54.71  per  cent)  were  single,  208  (34.45 
per  cent)  were  married,  and  37  (6.84  per  cent)  were  widowed. 
In  age  they  were  divided  as  follows : 


Age. 


Percentage. 


15-19  .    .  • 

20-24  '    *  • 

25-29  .    .  . 

30-39  •    •  • 

40-49  .    .  . 

50-59  •    •  • 
60  and  over 

Total  . 


The  mass  of  criminals  are,  it  is  easy  to  see,  young  single 
men  under  thirty.  Detailed  statistics  of  sex  and  age  and 
conjugal  condition  are  given  in  the  next  tables. 

Agk  and  Skx  of  Convicts  in  Eastern  Penitentiary. 

Nbgrors,  1885-1895. 


Ages. 


15-19   .  . 

20-24    .  . 

25-29   .  . 
30-34   .  . 

35-39     •    • 

40-44     .    . 

45-49     .   . 

50-59     •   • 
60  and  over 

Total 


Males. 

Females. 

53 

5 

153 

17 

119 

13 

80 

5 

45 

2 

21 

I 

II 

I 

3 

• 

15 

• 

497 

44 

Total. 


58 
170 

132 

85 

47 
22 

12 

3 
15 

541 


Sect  39.]         A  special  Study  in  Crime. 


253 


CoKjuoAi,  Condition  of  Convicts  in 

BaSTSRN  PENITENTIARY. 

Age. 

Males. 

Penuiles. 

Single. 

ICarried. 

Widowed 

Single. 

Married. 

Widowed. 

15-19  .... 

48 

5 

0 

4 

I 

0 

ao-34  .    . 

117 

35 

0 

7 

9 

I 

25-29  . 

59 

54 

8 

3 

ID 

0 

30-34  .    . 

30 

38 

6 

0 

4 

I 

35-39  •   - 

II 

30 

4 

0 

0 

2 

40-49  .   < 

8 

16 

8 

0 

2 

0 

50-59  . 

3 

3 

4 

0 

0 

0 

60  and  over  . 

0 

2 

3 

0 

0 

0 

The  convicts  were  bom  in  the  following  States: 

Philadelphia 114 

Other  parts  of  Pennsylvania 48 

New  Jersey 21 

Maryland ,  99 

Virginia 77 

Delaware 37 

District  of  Columbia •  35 

North  Carolina 19 

New  York 11 

South  Carolina 9 

Georgia 8 

Other  parts  of  the  North 13 

"        "       South 22 

The  West 13 

Foreign  Countries 15 

541 

Altogether  21  per  cent  were  natives  of  Philadelphia; 
217  were  bom  in  the  North,  and  309,  or  57  per  cent,  were 
bom  in  the  South.  Two-thirds  of  the  Negroes  of  the  city, 
judging  from  the  Seventh  Ward,  were  born  outside  the 
city,  and  this  part  furnishes  79  per  cent  of  the  serious 
crime.  54  per  cent  were  bom  in  the  South  and  this  part 
furnishes  57  per  cent  of  the  crime,  or  more,  since  many 
giving  their  birthplace  as  in  the  North  were  really  bom  in 
the  South. 

The  total  illiteracy  of  this  group  reaches  26  per  cent  or 
adding  in  those  who  can  read  and  write  imperfectly,  34  per 
cent  compared  with  18  per  cent  for  the  Negroes  of  the 


r 


S54  The  Negro  Criminal.  [Chap.  XIIL 

city  in   1890.     In  other  words   the   illiterate  fifth  of  the 
Negro  population  furnished  a  third  of  the  worst  criminals. 

ILLITSRACY  OF  CONVICTS  IN  THB  EasTKRN  STATK  PKNITKNTIARY. 


TotBlly  IlliCcrBte. 


enLi  Number.  Per  Cent 


35-55 

!'4.53 


358 


66-17 


7-76 


141 


Naturally  as  the  general  intelligence  of  a  community 
increases  the  general  intelligence  of  its  criminals  increases, 
though  seldom  iu  the  same  proportion,  showing  that  some 
crime  may  justly  be  attributed  to  pure  ignorance.  The 
number  of  criminals  able  to  read  and  write  has  increased 
from  50  per  cent  in  1885  to  79  per  cent  in  1895.  The 
number  of  colored  men  from  fifteen  to  thirty  who  can 
read  and  write  was  about  90  per  cent  in  the  Seventh  Ward 
in  1896.  This  shows  how  little  increased  intelligence 
alone  avails  to  stop  crime  in  the  face  of  other  powerful 
forces.  It  would  of  course  be  illogical  to  connect  these 
phenomena  directly  as  cause  and  effect  and  make  Negro 
crime  the  result  of  Negro  education — in  that  case  we 
should  find  it  difficult  to  defend  the  public  schools  in  most 
modem  lands.  Crime  comes  either  in  spite  of  intelligence 
or  as  a  result  of  misdirected  intelligence  under  severe 
economic  and  moral  strain.  Thus  we  find  here,  as  is 
apparently  true  in  France,  Italy  and  Germany,  increasing 
crime  and  decreasing  illiteracy  as  concurrent  phenomena 
rather  than  as  cause  and  effect.  However  the  rapid 
increase  of  intelligence  in  Negro  convicts  does  point  to 
some  grave  social  changes :  first,  a  large  number  of  young 


Sect  39.]  A  special  Study  in  Crime. 


255 


Negroes  are  in  such  environment  that  they  find  it  easier  to 
be  rogues  than  honest  men ;  secondly,  there  is  evidence  of 
the  rise  of  more  intelligent  and  therefore  more  dangerous 
crime  from  a  trained  criminal  class,  quite  different  from 
the  thoughtless,  ignorant  crime  of  the  mass  of  Negroes. 

A  separation  of  criminals  according  to  sex  and  age  and 
the  kind  of  crime  is  of  interest.   (See  p.  256  for  males.) 

Criminai^  in  Eastern  State  Penitentiary.— Fkmai^ss,  by  Age 

AND  Crime. 


Age*. 


15-19 
20-24 

25-29 
3^34 

35-39 
40-44 

45-49 


Crimes. 


5 
10 

II 

3 
I 

I 

I 


a 


IS 


1- 

II 

< 


i 

9 


1 


O  if  m 


IS 


I 


The  women  are  nearly  all  committed  for  stealing  and 
fighting.  They  are  generally  prostitutes  from  the  worst 
5luins.  The  boys  of  fifteen  to  nineteen  are  sentenced 
largely  for  petty  thieving : 


Whole  number  of  male  convicts,  15-19  years  of  age  .   . 

Convicted  for  larceny 27 

'*    assault  and  fighting 8 

sexual  crimes 5 

burglary 5 

**    other  crimes 8 


53 


II 


II 


II 


II 


II 


If 


53 


Making  a  similar  table  for  two  other  age  periods  we  have : 

Men,  25-39  Years. 


Men,  30-24  Years. 

I/arceny 62 

Assault 41 

Burglary  and  robbery   ....  30 

Sexual  crimes 6 

Other  crimes 14 


153 


Larceny 45 

Assault 33 

Burglary  and  robbery  ....  22 

Sexual  crimes 13 

Homicide 4 

Other  crimes 3 

119 


256 


The  Negro  Criminal.  [Chap.  XIII. 


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Sect.  39.]  A  Special  Study  in  Crime.  257 

There  is  here  revealed  no  especial  peculiarity:  stealing 
and  fighting  are  ever  the  besetting  sins  of  half-developed 
races. 

It  would  be  very  instructive  to  know  how  many  of  the 
541  criminals  had  been  in  the  hands  of  the  law  before. 
This  is  however  very  difficult  to  ascertain  correctly  since 
in  many,  if  not  the  majority  of  cases,  the  word  of  the 
prisoner  must  be  taken.  Even  these  methods  however 
reveal  the  startling  fact  that  only  315  or  58  per  cent  of 
these  541  convicts  are  reported  as  being  incarcerated  for 
the  first  time.  226  or  42  per  cent  can  be  classed  as 
habitual  criminals,  who  have  been  convicted  as  follows : 


Three  tiwie« 

I'oiir 

Fiye 

Six 

Seven 

Nine 

Ten 

MM                           • 

Eleven 

Twelve 

105 

46.5  per  cent 

60 

26.5 

24 

II.O 

19 

8.0 

9 

4.0 

4 

1.8 

I  • 

I 

•     2.2 

«< 

2 

I  -' 

226 

100  per 

cent. 

When  we  realize  that  probably  a  large  number  of  the 
other  convicts  are  on  their  second  or  third  term  we  begin 
to  get  an  idea  of  the  real  Negro  criminal  class.'* 


'*The  following  Negroes  were  measured  by  the  Bertillon  system  in 
Philadelphia  during  the  last  three  years: 

1893 64  (Whites  loi). 

1894 66  (Whites  248). 

1895 56  (Whites  267). 

1896 75  (Whites  347). 

The  arrests  by  detectives  for  five  years  are  given  on  the  following 
page  (258). 

17 


258 


The  Negro  CriminaL 


[Chap.  XIII. 


A  few  other  facts  are  of  interest:  if  we  tabulate  crime 
according  to  the  illiteracy  of  its  perpetrators,  we  have : 


Larceny 31  per  cent  of  illiteracy. 

Assault,  burglary  and  homicide  .   .      34 
Sexual  crimes 55 


It 


i( 


it 


(< 


(I 


t< 


Or  in  other  words,  the  more  serious  and  revolting  the 
crime  the  larger  part  does  ignorance  play  as  a  cause.  If 
we  separate  prisoners  convicted  for  the  above  crimes 
according  to  length  of  sentence,  we  have : 


Under  five  years 464    90.5  per  cent. 

Five  and  under  ten  years 40      8.0 

Ten  years  and  over 9      1.5 


It 


<f 


513 


Of  the  49  sentenced  for  5  years  and  over,  18  or  37  per 


Crimes  op  Nbgross  Arrbstbd  by  DBTBcrrvBS,  i878>i892. 


CaxMBS. 


Fugitives  from  justice    . 

Larceny 

Pickpocket 

Burglary 

Professional  thief     .   .   . 

Sodomy 

Misdemeanor 

Absconding 

Assault  to  kill 

Stabbing 

False  pretense 

Forgerjr 

Receivmg  stolen  goods  . 

Murder 

Abortion 

Breach  of  peace  ... 

Abandonment 

Oamblinp^  house  •   .   .    . 
Fornication  and  adultery 

Infanticide 

House  robbery 

Lottery 

Embezzlement 

Perjury 

Seduction 

Bawdv  house 


1887. 


10 

7 
I 

I 


I 
3 


I 
I 


x8S8. 


10 
4 


I 

6 


4 

2 


I 
I 
8 
I 
I 


1889. 


2 

17 
I 

2 

2 


8 
I 


•       •       t 


1890. 


4 
19 


3 
I 

2 

I 

5 


189X. 


4 
18 


2 
2 


3 

2 

I 


1899. 


9 
29  1 

13 

4 

3 
I 

I 

I 

4 

I 

I 
I 


■      •      • 


Sect.  40.]  Some  Cases  of  Crime,  259 

cent  were  illiterate ;  of  those  sentenced  for  less  than  5 
years  160  or  35  per  cent  were  illiterate. 

From  this  study  we  may  conclude  that  young  men  are 
the  perpetrators  of  the  serious  crime  among  Negroes  ;  that 
this  crime  consists  mainly  of  stealing  and  assault ;  that 
ignorance,  and  immigration  to  the  temptations  of  city  life, 
are  responsible  for  much  of  this  crime  but  not  for  all ;  that 
deep  social  causes  underlie  this  prevalence  of  crime  and 
they  have  so  worked  as  to  form  among  Negroes  since  1864 
a  distinct  class  of  habitual  criminals  ;  that  to  this  criminal 
class  and  not  to  the  great  mass  of  Negroes  the  bulk  of  the 
serious  crime  perpetrated  by  this  race  should  be  charged. 

40.  Some  Cases  of  Crime. — It  is  diflBcult  while  studying 
crime  in  the  abstract  to  realize  just  what  the  actual  crimes 
committed  are,  and  under  what  circumstances  they  take 
place.  A  few  typical  cases  of  the  crimes  of  Negroes  may 
serve  to  give  a  more  vivid  idea  than  the  abstract  statistics 
give.  Most  of  these  cases  are  quoted  from  the  daily  news- 
papers. 

First  let  us  take  a  couple  of  cases  of  larceny: 

Bdward  Ashbridge,  a  colored  boy,  pleaded  guilty  to  the  larceny  of  a 
qnart  of  milk,  the  property  of  George  Abbott.  The  boy's  mother  said 
he  was  incorrigible,  and  he  was  committed  to  the  House  of  Refuge. 

William  Drumgoole,  colored,  aged  thirty-one  years,  of  Lawrenceville, 
Va.,  was  shot  in  the  back  and  probably  fatally  wounded  late  yesterday 
afternoon  by  William  H.  McCalley,  a  detective,  employed  in  the  store  of 
John  Wanamaker,  Thirteenth  and  Chestnut  streets.  Drumgoole,  it  is 
alleged,  stole  a  pair  of  shoes  from  the  store,  and  was  followed  by 
McCalley  to  the  comer  of  Thirteenth  and  Chestnut  streets,  where  he 
placed  him  under  arrest.  Drumgoole  broke  away  from  the  detective's 
grasp,  and  running  down  Thirteenth  street  turned  into  Drury 
street,  a  small  thoroughfare  aboye  Sansom  street.  McCalley  started  in 
pursuit,  caUing  upon  him  to  stop,  but  the  fugitive  darted  into  an  alley- 
way, and  when  his  pursuer  came  up  within  a  few  yards  of  him,  he 
threatened  to  '*  do  him  up  "  if  he  followed  him  any  further.  McCalley 
drew  his  revolver  from  his  pocket,  and  as  Drumgoole  again  broke  into  a 
Tun  he  pointed  the  weapon  at  his  legs  and  fired.  Drumgoole  fell  to  the 
ground,  and  when  McCalley  came  up  to  him  he  was  unable  to  rise. 
McCalley  saw  at  a  glance  that,  instead  of  wounding  him  in  the  leg,  as  he 
had  intended,  the  bullet  had  lodged  in  the  man's  back.    He  hurriedly 


r 


'   Criminal.  [Chap.  XIII, 


sought  BSjbtance,  aad  had  the  wounded  man  taken  to  the  JeffcisoD 
Hospital.  McCalley  then  surrendered  himself  to  Reserve  Policeman 
Powell,  and  wu  tskea  to  the  Central  Station. 

Fighting  and  quarreling  among  neighbors  and  associates 
is  common  in  the  skira  districts  : 

Etta  Jones,  colored,  aged  twenty-one  years,  residing  on  Hirst  street, 
above  PifUi,  was  stabbed  near  her  home  last  night,  it  is  alleged,  by  Lottie 
Lee,  also  colored,  of  Second  and  Race  streets.  The  other  woman  waj 
taken  to  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital,  where  her  iniuries  were  found  to 
consist  of  several  cuts  on  the  left  shoulder  and  side,  none  of  which  are 
dangerous.  Her  assailant  was  arrested  later  by  Policeman  Dean  and 
locked  up  in  the  Third  and  Union  streets  station  house.  The  assault  is 
•aid  by  the  police  to  have  been  the  outcome  of  an  old  grudge. 

Jotepb  Cole,  colored,  aged  twenty-foar  years,  residing  in  GiUis'  alley, 
wu  dangerously  stabbed  shortly  before  midnight  on  Saturday,  aa  ii 
alleged,  by  Abraham  Wheeler,  at  the  latter's  house,  on  Hirst  street.  Cole 
was  taken  to  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital,  where  it  was  found  the  knife 
had  penetrated  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  right  lung.  Wheeler  fled 
from  the  bouse  after  the  cutting  and  eluded  arrest  until  yesterday  after- 
noon, when  he  was  captured  by  Policeman  Mitchell,  near  Fifth  and 
Lombard  atreeta.  When  brought  to  the  station  bouse  Wheeler  denied 
having  cut  Cole,  but  acknowledged  having  struck  him  because  he  waa 
insulting  his  wife.  He  was  locked  up,  however,  to  await  the  rcaalt  of 
Cole's  injuries. 

Sometimes  servants  are  caught  pilfering : 

Theodore  Grant,  colored,  residing  on  Burton  street,  attempted  to 
pledge  a  woman's  silk  dress  for  fij  at  McFillen's,  Seventeenth  and 
Market  streets,  several  days  ago.  The  pawnbroker  refused,  under  his 
role,  to  take  women's  raiment  from  a  man,  and  told  Grant  to  bring  the 
owner.  Grant  went  away  and  returned  with  Ella  Jones,  a  young  colored 
woman,  who  consented  to  take  i^  for  the  dress.  Since  that  time  C.  F. 
Robertson,  residing  at  Sixtieth  and  Spruce  streets,  made  complaint  to  the 
police  of  the  loss  of  the  dress,  and  as  the  result  of  an  investigation  made 
by  Special  Policemen  Gallagher  and  Bwing,  Grant  and  Ella  Jones  were 
arrested  yesterday  charged  with  the  larceny  of  the  silk  dress,  which  was 
recovered.  Grant  admitted  to  the  special  policemen  that  Ella  had  given 
him  the  dress  to  pawn,  but  asserted  that  he  bad  nothing  to  do  with  the 
matter  eicept  to  offier  to  pledge  the  article.  At  a  hearing  before  Magia- 
trate  Jermon,  at  the  City  Hatl,  yesterday,  Mr.  Robertson  stated  that  the 
girl  had  made  a  statement  to  him,  saying  that  Grant  had  induced  her  to 
take  the  dress.  He  said  the  girl  had  been  perfectly  trustworthy  up  to  the 
time  of  her  acquaintance  with  Grant,  and  had  been  left  in  fall  charge  oS 
the  house,  and  that  nothing  was  ever  missed.    He  said  he  also  expected 


Sect  40.]  Some  Cases  of  Crime.  261 

to  show  that  Grant  had  been  concerned  in  two  or  three  robberies.  BUa 
Jones,  a  neatly  dressed  girl,  who  said  she  came  from  Maryland,  stated  to 
the  magistrate  that  Grant  had  been  coming  to  see  her  for  about  a  year 
past.  She  said  he  had  been  importuning  her  to  take  something  and  let 
him  pawn  it,  so  that  he  could  raise  some  money,  imtil  she  finally  consented. 
After  she  started  to  go  to  her  mistress'  room  to  get  the  dress  her  heart 
failed  and  she  turned  back,  but  he  persuaded  her,  telling  her  that  Mrs. 
Robertson  would  not  miss  it,  and  then  she  took  the  dress.  Mr.  Robertson 
informed  the  magistrate,  and  Ella  assented  to  the  statement,  that  Grant 
had  taken  every  cent  of  her  earnings  from  her  for  weeks  past  and  had  also 
pawned  all  of  her  clothing,  so  that  at  the  present  time  she  was  penniless 
and  had  not  a  single  garment  except  what  she  wore.  The  magistrate  said 
it  was  undoubtedly  a  hard  case,  but  he  would  have  to  hold  Grant  and  Blla 
on  the  charge  of  larceny,  and  Grant  under  additional  bail  for  a  further 
hearing  next  Thursday  on  the  charges  referred  to  by  Mr.  Robertson.  The 
police  say  that  Grant,  who  is  a  smooth-faced,  cross-eyed  mulatto,  is  a 
"  crap  fiend,"  and  that  whatever  money  he  has  managed  to  obtain  by 
threats  and  cajolery  from  his  victim,  Blla  Jones,  has  gone  into  the  pockets 
of  the  small-fry  gamblers. 

There  is  growing  evidence  of  the  appearance  of  a  set 
of  thieves  of  intelligence  and  cunning:  sneak  thieves, 
confidence-men,  pickpockets,  and  "sharpers."  Some  typi- 
cal cases  follow : 

Marion  Shields  and  Alice  Hoffman,  both  colored  and  residing  on 
Fitzwater  street,  above  Twelfth,  had  a  further  hearing  yesterday  before 
Magistrate  South,  at  the  City  Hall,  and  were  held  for  trial  on  the  charge 
of  pilfering  wearing  apparel,  money,  vases,  umbrellas,  surgical  instru- 
ments, and  other  portable  property  firom  physicians'  offices  and  houses, 
where  they  had  made  visits,  under  the  pretence  of  desiring  to  hold 
consultations  with  the  doctors.  The  Magistrate  said  there  were  ten 
cases  against  Marion  Shields  individually  on  which  she  would  be  placed 
under  I2500  bail,  and  six  cases  against  both  women  on  which  the  bail 
would  be  I1500.  For  her  frankness,  Marion  Shields  was  given  the  lighter 
sentence,  one  year  in  the  Eastern  Penitentiary,  and  Alice  Hoffman  was 
sentenced  to  eighteen  months  in  the  same  institution. 

Two  daring  thieves  yesterday  entered  the  jewelry  store  of  Albert 
Baudschopfs',  468^  North  Eighth  street,  and  secured  a  number  of 
articles  of  jewelry  from  under  the  very  eyes  of  the  proprietor.  They 
had  left  the  store  and  proceeded  leisurely  down  the  street  before  the 
jeweller  discovered  his  loss,  with  the  result  that  before  an  alarm  could  be 
given  the  thieves  had  traveled  a  considerable  distance.  One  of  the  men 
was  captured  after  a  long  chase,  but  the  other's  whereabouts  is  unknown. 
About  half-past  one  o'clock  two  colored  men  entered  the  store  and  upon 
their  request  were  shown  trays  of  various  articles.  One  of  the  men 
engaged  the  proprietor  in  conversation  while  the  other  continued  to 


F 


262  The  Negro   Criminal.  [Chap.  Xlll. 

inspect  the  jewelry.  Thej  said  they  did  not  intend  baying  then  snd 
would  call  axain  aid  opening  tbe  door  walked  burriedlydowu  the  sIreeL 
Mr.  Baudschopfs  says  the  mea  got  away  with  a  gold-GUed  watch  case,  a 
silver  watch,  three  gold  lockets,  each  Get  with  a  amall  diamond ;  two 
dozen  ladies'  gold  rings,  not  jewelled;  b  gold  scarf  pin  and  a  man's  gold 

A  crime  for  which  Negroes  of  a  certain  class  have 
become  notorious  is  that  of  snatching  pocketbooks  on  the 
streets : 

While  passing  down  Eleventh  street,  near  Mount  Vernon,  shortlyafter 
nine  o'clock,  Mrs.  K.  Nichun,  of  1947  Warnock  street,  wns  approached 
from  behind  by  a  Negro,  who  snatched  a  pocketbook  containing  (3  from 
her  hand  and  ran  dowu  a  small  thoroughfare  towards  Tenth  street.  Very 
few  pedestrians  were  upon  the  street  at  the  time,  but  two  men,  who  were 
attracted  by  the  woman's  scream,  started  in  pursuit  of  the  thief.  The 
latter  had  too  much  of  a  start,  however,  and  escaped. 

William  Williams,  colored,  of  Dayton,  O.,  was  locked  up  in  the  Cen- 
tral Station  yesterday,  by  Reserve  Policeman  A.  Jones,  on  the  charge  of 
■natchiag  a  pocketbook  from  the  hands  of  Mrs,  Mary  Tevis,  of  141 
Mifflin  street.  The  theft  occurred  at  Eighth  and  Market  streets.  After 
securing  the  pocketbook  Williams  ran  until  he  reached  the  old  office  of 
the  city  solicitor,  at  Siith  and  Locust  streets.  He  was  followed  by 
Reserve  Jones,  who  captured  hiui  in  the  cellar  of  the  building.  Williams 
was  taken  to  Eighth  and  Sansom  streets  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  patrol 
wagon,  and  while  getting  into  the  vehicle  the  pocketbook  dropped  from 
out  of  his  trousers. 

Detectives  Bond  and  O'Leary  and  Special  Policeman  Duffy,  of  the 
Eighth  and  Lombard  streets  station,  arrested  last  night  Sylvester  Archer, 
of  Fifth  street,  below  Lombard,  William  Whittinglon,  alias  "  Piggy."  of 
Florida  street,  and  William  Carter,  of  South  Fifteenth  street,  all  colored 
and  about  twenty-one  years  of  age,  on  the  charge  of  a.>isault  upon  and 
robbery  of  Mrs.  Harrington  Fitzgerald,  wife  of  the  editor  of  the  Evening 
Item.  The  assault  occurred  on  Monday  at  noon.  As  Mrs.  Fitzgerald 
WHS  passing  Thirteenth  and  Spruce  streets,  a  purse  which  she  carried  in 
her  hand,  and  which  contained  J20,  was  snatched  from  lier  by  one  of 
three  colored  men.  They  took  advantage  of  the  crowd  to  strike  her  after 
the  robbery  had  been  perpetrated  and  escaped  before  her  outcry  was 
heard.  Wlien  the  nieu  were  brought  to  the  Central  Station  last  night 
and  quesiioned  by  Captain  of  Detectives  Miller,  Whittingtou,  it  is  said, 
confessed  complicity  In  the  crime.  He  told  the  captain  that  they  had 
been  following  a  band  np  Thirteenth  street,  and  as  tbcy  reached  Spruce 
rtreet  Carter  said,  "  There's  a  pocketbook;  I'm  going  to  get  it."  "  All 
right;  get  it,"  came  the  response.  Carter  ran  up  to  Mrs.  Fitzgerald  and 
and  in  a  moment  shouted,  "  I've  got  it  I  "  Then  he  and  Archer  ran  up 
Thirteenth  street.     Each  man  has  a  criminal  record,  and  the  picture  of 


Sect  40.]  Some  Cases  of  Crime.  263 

each  is  in  the  Rogues'  Gallery.  Carter  has  just  completed  a  six  months' 
sentence  for  purse-snatching,  while  Williams  and  Archer  have  each  served 
time  for  larceny. 

So  frequent  have  these  crimes  become  that  sometimes 
Negroes  are  wrongfully  suspected ;  whoever  snatches  a 
pocketbook  on  a  dark  night  is  supposed  to  be  black. 

A  favorite  method  of  stealing  is  to  waylay  and  rob  the 
frequenters  of  bawdy  houses ;  very  little  of  this  sort  of 
crime,  naturally,  is  reported.  Here  are  some  cases  of  such 
"  badger  thieves,"  as  they  are  called  : 

William  Lee,  colored,  and  Kate  Hughes,  a  white  woman,  were  con- 
victed of  robbing  Vincenzo  Monacello  of  f  10.  Lee  was  sentenced  to  three 
years  and  three  months  in  the  Eastern  Penitentiary  and  his  accomplice 
to  three  years  in  the  county  prison.  Mary  Roach,  jointly  indicted  with 
them,  was  acquitted.  Monacello  testified  that,  while  walking  along 
Christian  street,  between  Eighth  and  Ninth  streets,  on  Thursday  night 
of  last  week,  he  was  accosted  by  Mary  Roach  and  accompanied  her  to 
her  home  on  Essex  street.  Here  he  met  Lee  and  Kate  Hughes  and 
they  all  drank  considerable  beer.  Later  in  the  night  he  started  with 
Kate  Hughes,  at  her  suggestion,  to  a  house  further  up  the  street.  While 
on  their  way  the  prosecutor  said  he  was  struck  in  the  face  with  a  brick 
by  Lee,  after  which  the  money  was  stolen  from  him.  Mary  Roach  took 
the  stand  against  the  other  two  defendants  and  the  case  against  her  was 
abandoned. 

Ella  Jones,  colored,  claiming  to  be  from  Baltimore,  was  arrested  yes- 
terday by  Policeman  Dean  on  the  charge  of  the  larceny  of  a  |io  bill  from 
Joseph  Gosch,  a  Pole,  who  came  from  Pittsburg  on  Sunday,  and  claims 
that  while  he  was  looking  for  lodging  he  was  taken  to  the  woman's  house 
and  robbed. 

From  pocketbook  snatching  to  highway  robbery  is  but 
a  step : 

Before  Judge  Yerkes,  in  Court  No.  i,  Samuel  Buckner,  a  young  colored 
man,  was  convicted  of  robbing  George  C.  Goddard  of  a  gold  watch  and 
chain  and  a  pocketbook  containing  I3.  He  was  sentenced  to  ten  yeara 
in  the  Eastern  Penitentiary.  Mr.  Goddard,  with  his  head  swathed  in 
bandages,  was  called  to  the  stand.  He  said  that  a  few  minutes  past  mid- 
night of  November  28  he  was  returning  to  his  home,  No.  1220  Spruce 
street,  after  a  visit.  He  placed  his  hand  in  his  pocket,  drew  out  his  key 
and  was  about  to  mount  the  steps  when  a  dark  form  appeared  from  Dean 
street,  a  small,  poorly-lighted  thoroughflEure,  next  door  but  one  to  his 
home,  and  at  the  same  instant  he  was  struck  a  violent  blow  full  in  the 


r 


364  The  Negro  Criminal.  [Chap.  XIII. 

face  with  a  brick.  He  sudIc  |ta  the  paveuient  unconscious.  When  he 
recovered  bia  senses  he  was  in  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital.  There  wan  m 
long,  deep  cut  on  his  right  cheek,  another  across  the  forehead,  both  eje« 
were  blackened  and  swollen,  and  his  nose  mas  also  brnised.  At  the  same 
time  he  discovered  the  loss  of  his  pocketbook  and  jewelry.  Judge  Verkes 
reviewed  the  facts  of  tbe  case,  and  in  imposing  sentence  said:  "When  you 
committed  this  offence  you  were  atisolutely  indifferent  as  to  the  conse. 
quences  of  your  cowardly  attack.  You  rifled  this  man's  person  of  all  his 
valuables  and  left  him  lying  unconscious  on  the  paveuient,  and  for  aught 
you  knew  he  might  have  been  dead.  It  is  necessar?  not  only  that  society 
be  protected  from  the  depredations  of  such  fiends  as  you,  but  also  that  au 
exatuple  be  made  of  such  ruBians.  The  sentence  of  the  Court  is  that  you 
undergo  au  imprisonment  of  ten  years  at  labor  in  the  Eastern  Peniten- 
tiary, and  stand  committed  until  this  sentence  shall  be  complied  with.'' 
The  official  record  shows  that  Buckner  was  arrested  on  December  11, 
1S93,  by  policeman  Lo^an,  of  the  Lombard  street  station,  on  the  charge 
of  the  larceny  of  a  purse  from  Mrs.  Caroline  Lodge,  of  3416  North 
Fifteenth  street,  on  the  street,  and  was  sentenced  December  14.  1S93,  by 
Jndge  Biddle,  to  one  year's  imprisonment. 

Cases  of  aggravated  assaults,  for  various  reasons,  are 
frequent : 

Rube  Warren,  colored,  thirty  years,  of  Foulkrod  and  Cedar  streets, 
was  held  in  fiooo  bonds,  by  Magistrate  Eisenbrown,  for  an  alleged  aggra- 
vated assault  and  battery  on  Policeman  Haug,  of  the  Prankford  sta- 
tion, during  a  dog  fight  about  a  month  ago.  The  policeman  attempted  to 
stop  the  fight  when  Warren,  it  is  charged,  assisted  by  several  cotopan- 
ions,  assaulted  him,  broke  his  club  and  took  away  his  revolver.  Daring 
the  free  fight  that  followed,  in  which  other  policemen  took  part,  Warren 
escaped  and  went  to  Baltimore.  There,  it  is  said,  he  was  sent  to  prison 
for  thirty  days.  As  soon  as  he  was  released  he  went  back  to  Prankford, 
where  he  was  arrested  on  Saturday  night. 

William  Braxton,  colored,  aged  twenty-eight  years,  of  Irving  street, 
above  Thirty-seventh,  was  yesterday  held  in  (800  bail  for  a  further  hear- 
ing, charged  with  having  committed  an  aggravated  assault  on  WillUm 
Eeebler,  of  South  Thirtieth  street.  The  assault  occurred  about  three 
o'clock  yesterday  morning  on  Irving  street,  near  Thirty-seventh,  where 
the  colored  folks  of  tbe  neighborhood  were  having  a  party.  Keebler  and 
two  friends,  none  of  whom  were  colored,  forced  their  company  on  the 
invited  guests,  it  is  said,  and  a  fighl  ensued.  Keebler  was  found  a  short 
time  afterward  lying  in  the  snow  with  one  eye  almost  gouged  out.  He 
wu  couvej'ed  to  the  University  Hospital  and  the  police  of  tbe  Woodland 
avenue  station,  under  Acting  Sergeant  Ward,  upon  being  notified  of  the 
affair,  hurried  to  the  Irving  street  house  and  arrested  twenty  of  the  guests 
just  in  the  height  of  their  merrymaking.  All  of  them,  however,  were 
discharged  at  the  heariug.  upon  Braxton's  being  recognized  as  the  man 


Sect  40.]  Some  Cases  oj  Crime.  265 

who  struck  Keebler.    The  physician  at  the  hospital  says  that  the  injured 
man  will  very  likely  lose  the  sight  of  one  eye. 

Gambling  goes  on  almost  openly  in  the  slum  sections 
and  occasions,  perhaps,  more  quarreling  and  crime  than 
any  other  single  cause.    Reporters  declared  in  1897  that — 

"Policy  playing  is  rampant  in  Philadelphia.  Under  the  very  noses  of 
the  police  officials  and,  it  is  safe  to  say,  with  the  knowledge  of  some  of 
them,  policy  shops  are  conducted  openly  and  with  amazing  audacity. 
They  are  doing  a  '  land  office '  business.  Hundreds  of  poor  people  every 
day  place  upon  the  infatuating  lottery  money  that  had  better  be  spent  for 
food  and  clothing.  They  actually  deny  themselves  the  necessaries  of  life 
to  gamble  away  their  meagre  income  with  small  chance  of  getting  any 
letum.  Superintendent  of  Police  Linden,  discussing  the  general  subject 
of  policy  playing  with  a  Ledger  reporter,  said:  *  There  are  not  words 
enough  in  the  dictionary  to  express  my  feelings  upon  this  matter.  I 
regard  policy  as  the  worst  evil  in  a  large  city  among  the  poor  people. 
There  are  several  reasons  for  this.  One  is  that  women  and  children  may 
play.  Another  is  that  players  may  put  a  few  cents  on  the  lottery.  Policy 
may  do  more  harm  than  all  the  saloons  and  '*  speak  easies  *'  in  the  city. 
The  price  of  a  drink  of  liquor  is  five  or  ten  cents  and  the  cost  of  a 
"  growler  "  is  ten  cents,  but  a  man  or  a  woman  can  buy  two  cents'  worth 
of  policy.  The  effect  of  this  is  obvious.  Persons  who  have  not  the  price 
of  a  drink  may  gamble  away  the  few  pennies  they  do  possess  in  a  policy 
shop.  Then  the  drain  is  constant.  Policy  * 'fiends  "  play  twice  a  day,  risk- 
ing from  two  cents  to  a  dollar  upon  the  chance.  They  become  so  infatu- 
ated with  the  play  that  they  wUl  spend  their  last  cent  upon  it  in  the  hope 
of  making  a  "  hit.''  Many  children  go  hungry  and  with  insufficient  cloth- 
ing as  a  result  of  policy  playing.  I  have  heard  of  young  children  engag- 
ing in  this  sort  of  gambling.  Of  course  the  effect  of  this  is  very  bad.  The 
policy  evil  is,  to  my  mind,  the  very  worst  that  exists  in  our  large  cities  as 
jiffecting  the  poorer  classes  of  people.'  "  ^ 


"^  Although  the  police  lieutenants  have  reported  to  the  Superinten- 
dent that  few  policy  shops  exist,  the  Ledger  has  information  which  leads 
it  to  state  that  such  is  not  the  fact.  Many  complaints  against  the  evil 
have  been  received  at  this  office.  A  reporter  found  it  easy  to  locate  and 
gain  admittance  to  a  number  of  houses  where  policy  is  written.  A  policy 
writer  who  is  thoroughly  informed  as  to  the  inside  working  of  the  system 
is  authority  for  the  statement  that  at  no  time  in  recent  years  has  policy 
playing  been  so  prevalent  or  the  business  carried  on  as  openly  as  it  is  now. 

While  the  locations  of  the  policy  shops  are  well  known  and  the  writers 
familiar  to  many  persons,  the  backers,  who,  after  all,  are  the  substantial 
part  of  the  system,  are  hard  to  reach,  for  they  exercise  an  unusual  cun- 
ning in  the  direction  of  the  business.    There  are  several  backers  in 


a66  The  Negro  Criminal.  [Chap.  XIII. 

Once  in  a  while  gambling-houses  are  raided: 
TwcDty-lhree  colored  men,  who  were  arrested  in  a  raid  of  the  police 
on  an  alleged  gambling  bouse,  oa  Rodman  street,  above  Twelfth,  bad 

Philadelphia  of  greater  or  less  pretensions,  but  a  yoang  man  who  resides- 
uptown  and  operates  principally  in  the  territory  north  of  Girard  avenue, 
is  said  to  be  the  heaviest  backer  of  thegame.iu  this  city.  He  ownssiity 
or  seventy  "books,"  and  his  income  from  their  comliined  receipts  is 
sufficient  to  support  himself  and  several  relatives  in  maguiGcent  style. 

A  Ledger  reporter  spent  one  day  last  week  looking  up  the  policy  shops 
in  one  of  the  sections  where  this  backer  operates.  He  found,  in  addition 
to  several  places  where  policy  is  written,  the  rendezvous  of  (be  writers 
and  the  headquarters  of  ihe  policy  king  himself. 

Tbe  writers  who  hold  '  books"  from  the  backer  in  question  meet 
twice  every  day,  Sundays  excepted,  in  a  mean,  dirty  little  house  over- 
looking tbe  Reading  tracks,  just  below  Montgomery  avenue.  They 
enter  by  the  rear  through  a  narrow  alley  leading  off  Delhi  street,  several 
yards  below  Montgomery  avenue.  At  noon  and  at  6  o'clock  in  the  eve- 
niog  the  writers  hurry  to  this  rendezvous. 

Tbe  unusnal  number  of  men  gathering  at  this  point  at  regular  inter- 
vals, and  tbe  busiuess-like  manner  in  which  they  go  through  the  alley 
and  back  gate  is  enough  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  Twelfth  District 
policem.tn  on  this  beat  and  arouse  bis  suspicions.  Whether  be  notices  it 
or  not,  these  proceedings  have  been  going  on  for  months. 

Each  writer,  when  he  reaches  this  central  point,  turns  in  his  "book  " 
and  receipts.  There  are  two  drawings  daily,  hence  the  two  meetings. 
'  Two  relatives  of  tbe  backer  receive  tbe  "books"  and  tbe  money.  A 
copy  of  each  writer's  "  book  "  and  all  the  money  are  carried  by  one  of 
these  men  to  the  house  of  an  ex  special  policeman,  a  few  squares  away, 
and  there  turned  over  to  the  backer,  who  has  received  a  telegram  from 
Cincinnati  stating  the  numbers  that  have  come  out  at  that  drawing. 

The  "  books  "  are  carefully  gone  over,  to  see  if  there  are  any  "  hits." 
If  there  are  they  are  computed,  and  the  backer  sends  to  each  writer  the 
amount  necessary  to  pay  his  losses.  Tbe  numbers  that  appear  at  each 
drawing  are  printed  with  rubber  stamps  in  red  ink,  on  slips  of  white 
paper  and  given  to  the  writers  to  dintribute  among  the  players. 

These  diawings  are  usually  carried  to  tbe  rendezvoua  by  the  ex-police- 
man. Tbe  backer  pockets  Ihe  half  day's  receipts,  mounts  his  bicycle 
and  rides  away. 

To  establish  beyond  a  doubt  tbe  character  of  the  building  in  which 
the  writers  meet,  the  reporter  made  his  way  into  it  on  tbe  afternoon  in- 
question.  It  is  a  well-known  policy  shop,  conducted  by  a  colored  man, 
who  has  been  writing  policy  for  years.  He  is  president  of  a  colored 
political  club,  with  headquarters  near  by.  On  tbe  occasion  of  the  visit 
the  back  gate  w<is  ajar.  Pushing  it  open,  the  reporter  walked  in  without 
challenge. — From  tbe  Public  Ledger,  December  3,  1897. 


Sect  40.]  Some  Cases  of  Crime.  267 

a  hearing  yesterday,  before  Magistrate  South,  at  the  City  HalL  One  man, 
residing  on  Griscom  street,  testified  that  the  house  was  supposed  to  be  a 
"dub/'  and  that  it  was  customary  to  pay  a  dollar  before  admission  could 
be  secured,  and  that  he  had  been  gambling  at  ''crap  "  and  a  card  game 
known  as  '*  five-up,"  and  had  lost  1 18.  He  said  there  was  a  president, 
marshal  and  sergeant  at-arms.  He  pointed  out  Boiling,  Jordan  and 
Phillips  as  the  principals.  Special  Policeman  Dufiy  testified  that  the 
crowd  was  playing  *'crap"  with  dice  on  the  floor  when  he  headed  the 
raid  on  Monday  night.  He  said  he  had  notified  Boiling,  as  the  head  of 
the  house,  three  months  ago,  when  he  had  heard  that  gambling  was  going 
on  there,  to  stop  it.  On  cross-examination  the  witness  said  he  did  not 
know  that  it  was  a  social  club  called  the  "  Workingmen's  Club."  Patrol- 
man William  Harvey  testified  that  he  went  to  the  house  on  last  Saturday 
night  and  got  in  readily,  and  was  not  called  on  to  pay  a  dollar  initiation 
fee,  as  had  been  claimed  was  the  rule.  He  said  he  played  *'  sweat  "  and 
lost  twenty-five  cents,  but  did  not  win  anything.  He  said  Boiling  was 
running  the  game.  He  said  that  when  he  entered  the  house  somebody 
called  out  '*  Sam's  got  a  new  man,"  and  that  was  all  that  was  said. 

More  and  more  frequently  in  the  last  few  years,  have 
crime,  excess,  and  disappoiptment  led  to  attempted 
suicide  : 

Policeman  Wynne,  of  the  Fifth  and  Race  streets  station,  last  evening 
found  an  unknown  colored  woman  lying  unconscious  in  an  alleyway  at 
Delaware  avenue  and  Race  street  Beside  the  woman  was  an  empty 
bottle  labeled  benzine.  Wynne  immediately  summoned  the  patrol  wagon 
and  had  the  woman  removed  to  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital,  where  her 
condition  was  said  to  be  critical.  The  physicians  said  there  was  no  doubt 
the  woman  had  drunk  the  contents  of  the  bottle,  and  narcotics  weie  at 
once  administered  to  counteract  the  effect  of  the  poison.  At  midnight 
the  woman  showed  signs  of  returning  consciousness  and  it  was  thought 
that  she  would  recover.  The  police  have  no  clue  to  her  identity,  as  she 
could  not  tell  her  name,  and  the  alleyway  where  she  was  found  is  sur- 
rounded by  business  houses,  and  no  one  could  be  found  who  knew  her. 

It  is  but  fair  to  add  that  many  unsustained  charges  of 
crime  are  made  against  Negroes,  and  possibly  more  in 
proportion  than  against  other  classes.  Some  typical  cases 
of  this  sort  are  of  interest : 

W.  M.  Boley,  colored,  thirty  years  old,  who  said  he  resided  in  Mayes- 
viUe,  South  Carolina,  was  a  defendant  before  Magistrate  Jermon,  at  the 
City  Hall,  yesterday,  on  the  charge  of  assault  with  intent  to  steal. 
Detective  Gallagher  and  Special  Policeman  Thomas  testified  that  their 
attention  was  attracted  to  the  prisoner  by  his  actions  in  a  crowd  at  the 


r 


268 


The  Negro  Criminal. 


[Chap.  XIII. 


New  Yorlt  train  gate  at  Broad  street  station  on  Satnrdoy.  He  had  with 
tlim  several  parcels  nhich  he  laid  on  the  floor  near  the  gate,  and  the; 
said  they  saw  him  make  several  attempts  to  pick  women's  pockets,  and 
arrested  him.  The  man  however  proved  by  documentary  ev.dence  that 
be  was  a  clergyman,  a  graduate  of  Howard  UnivErsity,  and  financial 
agent  of  a  Southern  school.     He  was  released. 

Under  instructions  from  Judge  Finletter,  a  jury  rendered  a  verdict  of 
not  guilty  in  the  case  of  George  Queen,  a  young  colored  man,  charged 
with  the  murder  of  Joseph  A.  Sweeney  and  John  G.  O'Brien,  Dr. 
I'rederick  G.  Cozson,  pastor  of  the  Pitman  Methodist  Bpiscopal 
Chnrch,  at  Twenty-third  and  Lombard  streets,  testified  that  on  the  night 
in  question  he  was  about  to  retire,  when  he  beard  a  disturbance  on 
the  street.  Upon  going  out  he  saw  three  young  men,  two  of  whom  were 
leading  the  other  and  persuading  him  to  come  with  them.  At  the 
same  time  the  prisoner.  Queen,  came  along  in  the  middle  of  the  street, 
walking  leisurely.  Immediately  upon  seeing  him  the  three  men  attacked 
him,  and  were  shortly  afterward  joined  by  three  others,  and  the  etlUre 
crowd,  among  whom  were  Sweeney  and  O'Brien,  continued  beating  and 
■tiiking  the  colored  man.  Suddenly  the  crowd  scattered  and  Queen  was 
placed  under  arrest ;  he  had  fatally  stabbed  two  of  his  assailants.  This 
testimony  showed  that  the  accused  was  not  the  aggressor,  and  without 
hearing  the  defence  Judge  Finletter  ordered  the  jury  to  render  a  verdict 
of  not  guilty.  The  case,  he  said,  was  one  of  justifiable  homicide,  the 
defendant  having  a  right  to  resist  the  attack  by  force.  The  judge  further 
•aid  be  thought  the  case  would  have  a  tendency  to  repel  the  brutal  attacks 
made  on  inofiensive  persons  in  the  commuuity,  and  to  make  the  itreets 
Mfe  for  every  man  to  walk  on  at  any  hour  without  (ear. 

Leaving  for  a  moment  the  question  of  the  deeper  social 
causes  of  crime  among  Negroes,  let  us  consider  two  closely 
allied  subjects,  pauperism  and  the  use  of  alchoholic  liquors. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

PAUPERISM   AND  ALCOHOUSM. 

41.  Pauperism. — Emancipation  and  pauperism  must 
ever  go  hand  in  hand;  when  a  group  of  persons  have 
been  for  generations  prohibited  from  self-support,  and  self* 
initiative  in  any  line,  there  is  bound  to  be  a  large  number 
of  them  who,  when  thrown  upon  their  own  resources,  will 
be  found  incapable  of  competing  in  the  race  of  life.  Penn- 
sylvania  from  early  times,  when  emancipation  of  slaves  in 
considerable  numbers  first  began,  has  seen  and  feared  this 
problem  of  Negro  poverty.  The  Act  of  1726  declared: 
••  Whereas  free  Negroes  are  an  idle  and  slothful  people  and 
often  prove  burdensome  to  the  neighborhood  and  afford  ill 
examples  to  other  Negroes,  therefore  be  it  enacted     *     * 

*  *  that  if  any  master  or  mistress  shall  discharge  or 
set  free  any  Negro,  he  or  she  shall  enter  into  recognizance 
with  sufficient  securities  in  the  sum  of  £y>  to  indemnify 
the  county  for  any  charge  or  incumbrance  they  may  brings 
upon  the  same,  in  case  such  Negro  through  sickness  or 
otherwise  be  rendered  incapable  of  self-support" 

The  Acts  of  1780  and  1788  took  pains  to  provide  for  Negra 
paupers  in  the  county  where  they  had  legal  residence,  and 
many  decisions  of  the  courts  bear  upon  this  point  About 
1820  when  the  final  results  of  the  Act  of  1780  were  being 
felt,  an  act  was  passed  "  To  prevent  the  increase  of  pauper* 
ism  in  the  Commonwealth  ; "  it  provided  that  if  a  servant 
was  brought  into  the  state  over  twenty-eight  years  of  age 
(the  age  of  emancipation)  his  master  was  to  be  liable  for 
his  support  in  case  he  became  a  pauper.^ 

Thus  we  can  infer  that  much  pauperism  was  prevalent 
among  the  freedmen  during  these  years  although  there  are 

'  See  Appendix  B  for  these  various  laws. 

(269) 


270 


Pauperism  and  Alcoholism,      [Chap.  XIV. 


no  actual  figures  on  the  subject.  In  1837,  235  of  the 
1673  inmates  of  the  Philadelphia  County  Almshouse  were 
Negroes  or  14  per  cent  of  paupers  from  7.4  per  cent  of  the 
population.     These  paupers  were  classed  as  follows  :* 


Males. 

Under  21  years 18 

21  to  50       '*      57 

50  to  75       *• 18 

Unknown 13 


ic6 


Females. 

Under  18  years 33 

18  to  40       "      59 

40  to  60       **      17 

60                **     and  over    ...  10 

Unknown 10 


129 


<( 


K 


(( 


It 


Lunatics  and  defective 16  males,    31  females, 

Defective  from  exposure ii     "  ii 

Consumption,  rheumatism,  etc.    ...  9 

Pleurisy,  typhus  fever,  etc 12 

Destitute 13 

Paupers 32     '*  35 

Unclassed 13     **  28 

Women  lying-in,  children  and  orphans,  24 


(C 

t( 
(I 


106  males,  129  females. 

Ten  years  later  there  were  196  Negro  paupers  in  the 
Almshouse,  and  those  receiving  outdoor  relief  were  reported 
as  follows  :^ 

In  the  City: 

Of  2562  Negro  families,  320  received  assistance. 
In  spring  Garden: 

Of  202  Neg^  families, 
In  Northern  Liberties: 

Of  272  Negro  families. 
In  Southwark: 

Of  287  Negro  families, 
In  West  Philadelphia: 

Of    73  Negro  families. 
In  Moyamensing: 

Of  866  Negro  families,  104  received  assistance. 
Total,  of  4262  Negro  families,  442  received  assistance,  or  10  per  cent. 


3  received  assistance. 

6  received  assistance. 

7  received  assistance. 
2  received  assistance. 


■  **  Condition,**  etc.,  1838. 
•"Condition,"  etc.,  1848. 


Sect.  41.] 


Pauperism. 


271 


This  practically  covers  the  available  statistics  of  the  past ; 
it  shows  a  large  amount  of  pauperism  and  yet  perhaps  not 
more  than  could  reasonably  be  expected. 

To-day  it  is  very  difficult  to  get  any  definite  idea  of  the 
extent  of  Negro  poverty ;  there  is  a  vast  amount  of  alms- 
giving in  Philadelphia,  but  much  of  it  is  unsystematic 
and  there  is  much  duplication  of  work;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  so  meagre  are  the  records  kept  that  the 
real  extent  of  pauperism  and  its  causes  are  very  hard  to 
study.* 

The  first  available  figures  are  those  relating  to  lodgers  at 
the  station-houses — /.  e.  persons  without  shelter  who  have 
applied  for  and  been  given  lodging  :* 


1891,  total 

lodgers  . 

.  13,600,  of^ 

rhom  365,  or  2.7 

1892.  •• 

.  11,884, 

345,  or  2.9 

1893.  " 

.  20,521, 

**   622,  or  3.0 

1894.  " 

.  43.726, 

**   1247,  or  2.9 

1895.  " 

.  45.788, 

"   2247,  or  4.9 

1896,  " 

.46,121, 

**   2359,  or  5.0 

( 


Somewhat  similar  statistics  are  furnished  by  the  report 
of  arrests  by  the  vagrant  detective  for  the  last  ten  years : 


1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 

1893 
1894 

1895 
1896 


total  arrests,  581. 

574. 
588. 

523. 

554. 

505. 
586. 

688. 

557. 
629. 


Neg^roes 


.55 

9.5  per  cent 

.48 

8.4    •* 

.36 

6.1 

.48 

9.1 

.47 

8.5   - 

.65 

12.9   ** 

.67 

ii.o   *• 

.66 

9.6   - 

.56 

10.0   ** 

.59 

9.3 

The  Negro  vagrants  arrested  during  the  last  six  years 
ere  thus  disposed  of : 


^  Cf.  The  "  Civic  Club  Digest  *'  for  general  information. 
*From  reports  of  police  department.     Many  |  other  official  reports 
xnight  be  added  to  these,  but  they  are  easily  accessible. 


272 


Pauperism  and  Alcoholism.      [Chap.  XIV. 


Dispocal. 


Given  temporary  shelter  .  .  . 
Transported  from  city  .... 
Arrested  foryagrancy,  beggary, 

etc 

Arrested    for  vicious  conduct, 

etc 

Sent  to  House  of  Refuge  .  .  . 
Sent  to  societies  and  institutions 


189Z. 

Z893. 

1893- 

18^. 

X895. 

21 

27 

29 

39 

26 

3 

2 

5 

4 

2 

5 

10 

4 

4 

2 

15 

10 

16 

II 

14 

3 

14 

7 

2 

5 

0 

2 

6 

6 

7 

1896. 


32 

3 


5 

o 

13 


These  records  give  a  vague  idea  of  that  class  of  persons 
just  hovering  between  pauperism  and  crime — ^trampSi 
loafers,  defective  persons  and  unfortunates — a  class  difficult 
to  deal  with  because  made  up  of  diverse  elements. 

Turning  to  the  true  paupers,  we  have  the  record  of  the 
paupers  admitted  to  the  Blockley  Almshouse  during  six 
years: 

ADUI.TS— SiXTBBN  YSARS  OP  ACB  AND  OVBR. 


Yemr. 


189I 
1892 

1893 
1894 

1895 
1896 


Total 

Receptions 

Negroes. 

6764 

569 

6231 

537 

6451 

567 

6108 

569 

6318 

606 

1       6414 

593 

Per  Cent  of 


8.4 
8.8 
8.8 

9.3 

9.3 
9.2 


Childrbn  undbr  Sixtbbn  Ybars  of  Agb. 


Year. 


189I 
1892 

1893 
1894 

1895 
1896 


Total 

Receptions 

NeiH'oes. 

380 

38 

262 

38 

295 

38 

304 

35 

401 

4» 

410 

51 

Per  Cent  of 
Negroes. 

12.3 

14.5 
12.9 

II. I 

las 
12.4 


In  1 89 1,  4.2  per  cent  of  the  whites  admitted  were 
insane  and  2.3  per  cent  of  the  Negroes;  in  1895, 
8.3  per  cent  of  the  whites  and  8.6  per  cent  of  the 
Negroes: 


Sect  41.] 


Year. 


Pauperism, 
Thb  Insane. 


273 


1891 
1893 

1893 
1894 

1895 


Whites. 


Total 
Receptions 


6195 
5694 
5884 
5539 
5712 


Insane. 


264 

450 
427 
441 

463 


Negroes. 


ToUl 
Receptions 


569 

537 

567 

569 
606 


Insane. 


13 
45 
39 
38 
52 


We  have  already  seen  that  in  the  Seventh  Ward*  about 
9  per  cent  of  the  Negroes  can  be  classed  as  the  "  very  poor," 
needing  public  assistance  in  order  to  live.  From  this  we 
may  conclude  that  between  three  and  four  thousand  Negro 
families  in  the  city  may  be  classed  among  the  semi-pauper 
class.  Thus  it  is  plain  that  there  is  a  large  problem  of 
poverty  among  the  Negro  problems;  4  per  cent  of  the 
population  furnish  according  to  the  foregoing  statistics 
at  least  8  per  cent  of  the  poverty.  Considering  the 
economic  difficulties  of  the  Negro,  we  ought  perhaps  to 
expect  rather  more  than  less  than  this.  Beside  these  per- 
manently pauperized  families  there  is  a  considerable  number 
of  persons  who  from  time  to  time  must  receive  temporary 
aid,  but  can  usually  get  on  without  it  In  time  of  stress 
as  during  the  year  1893  this  class  is  very  large. 

There  is  especial  suffering  and  neglect  among  the  children 
of  this  class  of  people :  in  the  last  ten  years  the  Children's 
Aid  Society  has  received  the  following  children  :  • 

From  1887  to  i8gj,  Negroes,     TotaL 

Received  from  judges  and  magistrates  (so-called  delin- 
quents)           19  181 

Deserted  babies 7  55 

Orphans 4  147 

Half-orphans,  including  those  with  mothers  in  delicate 
health  and    worthless   fathers ;    also    both    parents 

worthless 12  448 

From  Blockley  Almshouse 7 


*  Prom  the  Society  records,  hj  courtesy  of  the  officers. 
18 


274  Pauperism  and  Alcoholism,       [Chap.  XIV. 

From  Blockley  Almshouse  (foandlings) 12  362 

From  Society  for  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children  .   .  3  45 

From  County  Poor  Boards 26  151 

no         1389 

The  total  receptions  during  these  ten  years  have  been 
1389,  of  which  the  Negroes  formed  8  per  cent.  This  but 
emphasizes  the  fact  of  poor  family  life  among  the  lower 
classes  which  we  have  spoken  of  before, 

A  little  better  light  can  be  thrown  on  the  problem  of 
poverty  by  a  study  of  concrete  cases ;  for  this  purpose  237 
families  have  been  selected.  They  live  in  the  Seventh 
Ward  and  are  composed  of  those  families  of  Negroes 
whom  the  Charity  Organization  Society,  Seventh  District, 
has  aided  for  at  least  two  winters.^  First,  we  must  notice 
that  this  number  nearly  corresponds  with  the  previously 
estimated  per  cent  of  the  "  very  poor."  ®  Arranging  these 
families  according  to  size,  we  have : 

Number  in  Family.  Families.  Persons. 

I 48  48 

2  .                         .    .    61  122 

3 54  162 

4                              -SI  124 

5 .    19  95 

6 10  60 

II I  II 

Unknown 9  ? 


Total 234  638 

The  reported  causes  of  poverty,  which  were  in  all  cases 
verified  by  visitors  so  far  as  possible,  were  as  follows : 


'From  the  C.  O.  S.  records,  Seventh  District,  by  courtesy  of  Miss 
Burke. 

^This  coincidence  in  figures  was  entirely  unnoticed  until  both  had 
been  worked  out  by  independent  methods. 


Sect.  41.]  Pauperism.  275 


I^ackof  work iiSfamili 

Sickness,  accident,  or  physical  disability    .   •   .  39 

Death  of  bread-winner  and  old  age 24 

Probable  gambling,  criminal  shifUessness,  etc,  16 

Desertion  of  bread-winner 15 

Laziness  and  improvidence 10 

Intemperate  use  of  alcoholic  liquors 8 

Financial  reverses 7 


If 
II 

K 
l( 
l< 
l( 
II 


II 
II 
II 


234&milie8. 

Prom  as  careful  a  consideration  of  these  cases  as  the 
necessarily  meagre  information  of  records  and  visitors 
permit,  it  seems  fair  to  say  that  Negro  poverty  in  the 
Seventh  Ward  was,  in  these  cases,  caused  as  follows : 

By  sickness  and  misfortune 40  per  cent. 

By  lack  of  steady  employment   ...  ...    30 

By  laziness,  improvidence  and  intemperate  drink   20 
1^  crime 10 

Of  course  this  is  but  a  rough  estimate ;  many  of  these 
causes  indirectly  influence  each  other :  crime  causes  sick- 
ness and  misfortune ;  lack  of  employment  causes  crime ; 
laziness  causes  lack  of  work,  etc. 

Several  typical  families  will  illustrate  the  varying  con- 
ditions encountered : 

No.  I. — South  Eighteenth  street  Four  in  the  family ; 
husband  intemperate  drinker;  wife  decent,  but  out  of 
work. 

No.  2. — South  Tenth  street  Five  in  the  family;  widow 
and  children  out  of  work,  and  had  sold  the  bed  to  pay  for 
expense  of  a  sick  child. 

No.  3. — ^Dean  street  A  woman  paralyzed;  partially  sup- 
ported by  a  colored  church. 

No.  4. — Carver  street.  Worthy  woman  deserted  by  her 
husband  five  years  ago ;  helped  with  coal,  but  is  paying 
the  Charity  Organization  Society  back  again. 

No.  5. — Hampton  street  Three  in  family;  living  in 
three  rooms  with  three  other  families.  "  No  push,  and 
improvident" 


I 


376  Pauperism  and  Akoholism.      [Chap.  XIV. 

No.  6. — Stockton  street.  The  woman  has  just  had  an 
operation  performed  in  the  hospital,  and  cannot  work  yet 

No.  7. — Addison  street.  Three  in  family;  left  their  work 
in  Virginia  through  the  misrepresentations  of  an  Arch 
street  employment  bureau  ;  out  of  work. 

No.  8. — Richard  street.  Laborer  injured  by  falling  of  a 
derrick ;  five  in  the  family.  His  fellow  workmen  have 
contribnted  to  his  support,  but  the  employers  have  given 
nothing, 

No,  g. — Lombard  street.  Five  in  family;  wife  white; 
living  in  one  room  ;  hard  cases  ;  mm  and  lies  ;  pretended 
one  child  was  dead  in  order  to  get  aid. 

No.  10. — Carver  street.  Woman  and  demented  son;  she 
was  found  verj'  drunk  on  the  street ;  plays  policy. 

No.  II. — Lombard  street  Worthy  woman  sick  with  a 
tumor ;  given  temporary  aid. 

No.  12. — Ohio  street  Woman  and  two  children  deserted 
by  her  husband  ;  helped  to  pay  her  rent. 

No.  13. — Rodman  street  A  widow  and  child ;  out  of 
work.     *'One  very  little  room,  clean  and  orderly." 

No.  14. — Fothergill  street  Two  in  the  family;  the  man 
sick,  half-crazy  and  lazy;  "going  to  convert  Africa  and 
didn't  want  to  cook  ; "  given  temporary  help. 

No.  15. — Lombard  street  An  improvident  young  couple 
out  of  work ;  living  in  one  untidy  room,  with  nothing  to 
pay  rent. 

No.  16. — Lombard  street  A  poor  widow  of  a  wealthy 
caterer  ;  cheated  out  of  her  property  ;  has  since  died. 

No.  17. — Ivy  street.  A  family  of  four;  husband  was  a 
stevedore,  but  is  sick  with  asthma,  and  wife  out  of  work  ; 
decent,  but  improvident. 

No.  18. — Naudain  street  Family  of  three;  the  man, 
who  is  decent,  has  broken  his  leg ;  the  wife  plays  policy. 

No.  19. — South  Juniper  street  Woman  and  two  chil- 
dren ;  deserted  by  her  husband,  and  in  the  last  stages  of 
consumption. 


Sect  42.]  TTie  Drink  Habit.  277 

No.  20. — Radcliffe  street.  Family  of  three;  borrowed  of 
Charity  Organization  Society  $1.00  to  pay  rent,  and  re- 
paid it  in  three  weeks. 

No.  21. — Lombard  street.  "A  genteel  American  white 
woman  married  to  a  colored  man ;  he  is  at  present  in  the 
South  looking  for  employment;  have  one  child;"  both 
are  respectable. 

No.  22. — Fothergill  street  Wife  deserted  him  and  two 
children,  and  ran  oflF  with  a  man;  he  is  out  of  work; 
asked  aid  to  send  his  children  to  friends. 

No.  23. — Carver  street.  Man  of  twenty-three  came  from 
Virginia  for  work ;  was  run  over  by  cars  at  Forty-fifth 
street  and  Baltimore  avenue,  and  lost  both  legs  and  right 
arm ;  is  dependent  on  colored  friends  and  wants  something 
to  do. 

No.  24. — Helmuth  street.  Family  of  three;  man  out  of 
work  all  winter,  and  wife  with  two  and  one-half  days'  work 
a  week ;  respectable. 

No.  25. — Richard  street.  Widow,  niece  and  baby ;  the 
niece  betrayed  and  deserted.     They  ask  for  work. 

42.  The  Drink  Habit. — ^The  intemperate  use  of  intoxi- 
cating liquors  is  not  one  of  the  Negro's  special  oflFences ; 
nevertheless  there  is  considerable  drinking  and  the  use  of 
beer  is  on  the  increase.  The  Philadelphia  liquor  saloons 
are  conducted  under  an  unusually  well-administered  system, 
and  are  not  to  so  great  an  extent  centres  of  brawling  and 
loafing  as  in  other  cities;  no  amusements,  as  pool  and 
billiards,  are  allowed  in  rooms  where  liquor  is  sold.  This 
is  not  an  unmixed  good  for  the  result  is  that  much  of  the 
drinking  is  thus  driven  into  homes,  clubs  and  ^^speak- 
easies." The  increase  of  beer-drinking  among  all  classes, 
black  and  white,  is  noticeable ;  the  beer  wagons  deliver 
large  numbers  of  bottles  at  private  residences,  and  much  is 
carried  from  the  saloons  in  buckets. 

An  attempt  was  made  in  1897  to  count  the  frequenters 
of  certain  saloons  in  the  Seventh  Ward  during  the  hours 


af^  Pauperism  and  Alcokob'sm.       [Chap.  XIV. 

from  8  to  10  on  a  Saturday  night.  It  was  impracticable  to 
make  this  count  simultaneously  or  to  cover  the  whole  ward, 
but  eight  or  ten  were  watched  each  night.'  The  results 
are  a  rough  measurement  of  the  drinking  habits  in  this  ward. 

There  are  in  the  ward  53  saloons  of  which  26  were 
watched  in  districts  mostly  inhabited  by  Negroes.  In  these 
two  hours  the  following  record  was  made: 

Persons  entering  the  saloons  : 

Negroes — male,  1373  ;  female,  213.  Whites — male, 
1445 ;  female,  139. 

Of  those  entering,  the  following  are  known  to  have 
carried  liquor  away : 

Negroes — male,  238;  female,  125.  Whites — male,  275  ; 
female,  81. 

3170  persons  entered  half  the  saloons  of  the  Seventh 
Ward  in  the  hours  from  8  to  10  of  one  Saturday  night  in 
December,  1897;  of  these,  1586  were  Negroes,  and  1584 
were  whites;  2818  were  males,  and  352  were  females."* 
Of  those  entering  these  saloons  at  this  time  a  part  carried 
away  liquor — mostly  beer  in  tin  buckets ;  of  those  thus 
visibly  carrying  away  liquor  there  were  in  all  719;  of 
these  363  were  Negroes,  and  356  were  whites;  513  were 
males,  and  206  were  females. 

The  observers  stationed  near  these  saloons  saw,  in  the 
two  hours  they  were  there,  79  drunken  persons. 

The  general  character  of  the  saloons  and  their  frequenters 
can  best  be  learned  from  a  few  typical  reports.  The  num- 
bers given  are  the  official  license  numbers  : 

No.  516.     Persons  entering  saloon  : 
Men — white,    40 ;    Negro,    68.      Women — white,    12  ; 
N^ro,  12. 

■I  Bin  indebted  to  Dr.  S.  M.  Lindtaj  and  the  students  of  the  Wliuton 
School  for  the  carrying  out  of  this  plan. 

'*  No  comparison  of  the  Dumber  of  Nagroes  and  whites  for  the  ward 
can  be  made,  because  manj'  of  the  saloons  omitted  are  freqnented  bj 
whites  principally. 


Sect.  43.]  The  Drink  Habit.  279 

Persons  carrying  liquor  away : 

Men — ^white,  8 ;  Negro,  16.  Women — ^white,  i ;  Negro,  3. 

Drunken  persons  seen,  12. 

General  character  of  saloon  and  frequenters : — "  A  small 
comer  saloon,  kept  by  a  white  man.  The  saloon  appears 
to  be  a  respectable  one  and  has  three  entrances :  one  on 
Thirteenth  street  and  the  two  on  a  small  court  The  majority 
of  the  colored  patrons  are  poor  people 'and  of  the  working 
class.  The  white  patrons  are,  for  the  greater  part,  of  the 
better  class.    Among  the  latter  very  few  were  intoxicated.*' 

No.  488.    Persons  entering: 

Men — white,  24 ;  Negro,  102.  Women — ^white,  2 ; 
Negro,  3. 

Carrying  liquor  away,  12 ;  drunken  persons  seen,  8. 

General  character : — "  The  saloon  was  none  too  orderly; 
policemen  remained  near  all  the  time;  the  Negro  men 
entering  were  as  a  rule  well  dressed — ^perhaps  one-third 
were  laborers;  the  white  men  were  well  dressed  but 
suspicious  looking  characters." 

No.  515.    Persons  entering : 

Men — white,  81 ;  Negro,  59.  Women — ^white,  4 ; 
Negro,  ID. 

Persons  carrying  liquor  away  : 

Men — white,  15  (one  a  boy  of  12  or  14  years  of  age) ; 
Negro,  II.     Women — white,  4;  Negro,  8. 

Drunken  persons  seen,  2  (to  one  nothing  was  sold). 

General  character  of  saloon  and  frequenters : — "  There 
were  two  Negro  men  and  seven  white  men  in  saloon 
when  the  count  was  started.  The  place  has  three  doors 
but  all  are  easily  observed.  Trade  is  largely  in  distilled 
liquors,  and  a  great  deal  is  sold  in  bottles — ^a  *  barrel 
shop.' " 

No.  527.     Persons  entering  saloon :  , 


28o 


Pauperism  and  Alcoholism.      [Chap.  XIV. 


Men,  White  .   . 
**     Negro  ,   . 
Women,  White 
**        Negro 


to  9  p.  M. 

9  to  10  p.  M.    Total 

49 

54               104 

29 

37               68 

3 

3                 6 

5 

2                 7 

88 


97 


185 


Persons  carrying  liquor  away: 


Men,  White 

.   .   .                  6 

II 

17 

**     Negro  .... 

.   .   .                  4 

9 

13 

Women,  White    .   .   , 

.   .   .                  0 

I 

I 

Negro    .    .   . 

.   .   .                  4 

0 

4 

Boys,            **        .   .    . 

.   .                  I 

0 

I 

15 


21 


36 


Drunken  persons  seen,  none. 

General  character  of  saloon  and  frequenters : — "  Quiet, 
orderly  crowd — quick  trade — ^no  loafing.  Three  boys  were 
among  those  entering." 

No.  484.    Persons  entering  saloon : 

Men — white,  70;  Negro,  32.  Women — white,  10; 
Negro,  I. 

Persons  carrying  liquor  away : 

Men — white,  10;  Negro,  12.  Women — white,  4; 
Negro,  o. 

Drunken  persons  seen,  11,  six  of  whom  were  white  and 
five  black.  ''  I  cannot  say  that  the  saloon  was  responsible 
for  all  of  them,  but  they  were  all  in  or  about  it." 

This  saloon  is  in  the  worst  slum  section  of  the  ward  and 
is  of  bad  character.  Frequenters  were  a  mixed  lot,  "  fast, 
tough,  criminal  and  besotted." 

No.  487.     Persons  entering : 

Men — white,  79;  Negro,  129.  Women — ^white,  13; 
Negro,  34. 

Persons  carrying  liquor  away : 

Men — white,  15  ;  Negro,  25.  Women — white,  5  ; 
Negro,  8.    . 


Sect.  42.]  The  Drink  Habit.  281 

"  No  drunken  men  seen.  Frequented  by  a  sharp  class 
of  criminals  and  loafers.  Near  the  notorious  *  Middle 
Alley.' " 

No.  525. 

Total  Negroes  entering,  14;  total  whites  entering,  13. 

**  No  loafers  about  the  front  of  the  saloon.  Streets  well 
lighted  and  neighborhood  quiet,  according  to  the  policeman. 
There  was  a  barber  shop  next  door  and  a  saloon  on  the 
comer  ten  doors  below.  Very  few  drunken  people  were 
seen.  Trade  was  most  brisk  between  eight  and  nine 
o'clock.  In  two  hours  one  more  Negro  than  white  entered. 
Two  more  Negroes,  men,  than  whites  carried  away  liquor. 
One  white  man,  a  German,  returned  three  times  for  beer  in 
a  kettle.  Two  Negro  women  carried  beer  away  in  kettles ; 
one  white  woman  (Irish)  made  two  trips.  All  women 
entered  by  side  door.  The  saloon  is  under  a  residence, 
three  stories,  comer  of  Waverly  and  Eleventh  streets. 
Waverly  street  has  a  Negro  population  which  fairly 
swarms — good  position  for  Negro  trade.  Proprietor  and 
assistant  were  both  Irish.  The  interior  of  the  saloon  was 
finished  ^in  white  pine  stained  to  imitate  cherry.  Ex- 
tremely plain.  Barkeeper  said,  *  A  warm  night,  but  we 
are  doing  very  well.'  One  beggar  came  in,  a  colored 
*  Auntie ;' she  wanted  bread, -not  gin.  Negroes  were  well 
dressed,  as  a  rule,  many  smoking.  The  majority  of 
frequenters  by  their  bustling  air  and  directness  with  which 
they  found  the  place,  showed  long  acquaintance  with  the 
neighborhood ;  especially  this  comer." 

^   No.  500.     Persons  entering  saloon : 

K  Men — ^white,     40 ;     Negro,    73.      Women — ^white    4 ; 

Negro,  6. 

Persons  carrying  liquor  away : 
"  Men — white,     6;     Negro,     23.      Women — ^white,    5; 
Negro,  4. 

Dranken  persons  seen,  i. 


a8j>  Pauperism  and  Alcoholism.       [Chap.  XIV. 

General  cliaracter  of  saloon  and  frequenters: — "Four 
story  building,  plain  and  neat ;  three  entrances ;  iron 
awning;  electric  and  Welsbach  lights,  Negroes  generally 
tidy  and  appear  to  be  pretty  well-to-do.  Whites  not  so 
tidy  as  Negroes  and  generally  mechanics.  Almost  all 
smoke  cigars.  Liquor  carried  away  openly  in  pitchers  and 
kettles.  Three  of  the  white  women,  carrying  away  liquor, 
looked  like  Irish  servant  girls.  Some  of  the  Negroes 
carried  bundles  of  laundry  and  groceries  with  them." 

Few  general  conclusions  can  be  drawn  from  this  data. 
The  saloon  is  evidently  not  so  much  a  moral  as  au  economic 
problem  among  Negroes  ;  if  the  1586  Negroes  who  went 
into  the  saloons  within  two  hours  Saturday  night  spent  five 
cents  apiece,  which  is  a  low  estimate,  they  spent  $79.30. 
If,  as  is  probable,  at  least  $100  was  spent  that  Saturday 
evening  throughout  the  ward,  then  in  a  year  we  would  not 
be  wrong  in  concluding  their  Saturday  night's  expenditure 
was  at  least  $5000,  and  their  total  expenditure  could 
scarcely  be  less  than  $10,000,  and  it  may  reach  $20,000 — a 
large  sum  for  a  poor  people  to  spend  in  liquor. 

43.  The  Causes  of  Crime  and  Poverty. — A  study  of 
statistics  seems  to  show  that  the  crime  and  pauperism  of 
the  Negroes  exceeds  that  of  the  whites ;  that  in  the  main, 
nevertheless,  it  follows  in  its  rise  and  fall  the  fluctuations 
shown  in  the  records  of  the  whites,  i.  e.,  if  crime  increases 
among  the  whites  it  increases  among  Negroes,  and  vice 
versa,  with  this  peculiarity,  that  among  the  Negroes  the 
change  is  always  exaggerated — the  increase  greater,  the 
decrease  more  marked  in  nearly  all  cases.  This  is  what  we 
would  naturally  expect:  we  have  here  the  record  of  a  low 
social  class,  and  as  the  condition  of  a  lower  class  is  by  its 
very  definition  worse  than  that  of  a  higher,  so  the  situation 
of  the  Negroes  is  worse  as  respects  crime  and  poverty  than 
that  of  the  mass  of  whites.  Moreover,  any  change  in  social 
conditions  is  bound  to  affect  the  poor  and  unfortunate  more 
than  the  rich  and  prosperous.     We  have  in  all  probability 


Sect  43.]    The  Causes  of  Crime  and  Poverty.  283 

an  example  of  tliis  in  the  increase  of  crime  since  1890 ; 
we  liave  had  a  period  of  financial  stress  and  industrial 
depression ;  the  ones  who  have  felt  this  most  are  the  poor, 
the  unskilled  laborers,  the  inefficient  and  unfortunate,  and 
those  with  small  social  and  economic  advantages:  the 
Negroes  are  in  this  class,  and  the  result  has  been  an  increase 
in  Negro  crime  and  pauperism;  there  has  also  been  an 
increase  in  the  crime  of  the  whites,  though  less  rapid  by 
reason  of  their  richer  and  more  fortunate  upper  classes. 

So  far,  then,  we  have  no  phenomena  which  are  new  or 
exceptional,  or  which  present  more  than  the  ordinary  social 
problems  of  crime  and  poverty — although  these,  to  be  sure, 
are  difficult  enough.  Beyond  these,  however,  there  are 
problems  which  can  rightly  be  called  Negro  problems: 
they  arise  from  the  peculiar  history  and  condition  of  the 
American  Negro.  The  first  peculiarity  is,  of  course,  the 
slaver}'  and  emancipation  of  the  Negroes.  That  their 
emancipation  has  raised  them  economically  and  morally  is 
proven  by  the  increase  of  wealth  and  co-operation,  and  the 
decrease  of  poverty  and  crime  between  the  period  before 
the  war  and  the  period  since ;  nevertheless,  this  was  mani- 
festly no  simple  process :  the  first  effect  of  emancipation 
was  that  of  any  sudden  social  revolution :  a  strain  upon 
the  strength  and  resources  of  the  Negro,  moral,  economic 
and  physical,  which  drove  many  to  the  wall.  For  this  reason 
the  rise  of  the  Negro  in  this  city  is  a  series  of  rushes  and 
backslidings  rather  than  a  continuous  growth.  The  second 
great  peculiarity  of  the  situation  of  the  Negroes  is  the  fact 
of  immigration ;  the  great  numbers  of  raw  recruits  who 
have  from  time  to  time  precipitated  themselves  upon  the 
Negroes  of  the  city  and  shared  their  small  industrial  oppor- 
tunities, have  made  reputations  which,  whether  good  or  bad, 
all  their  race  must  share ;  and  finally  whether  they  failed  or 
succeeded  in  the  strong  competition,  they  themselves  must 
soon  prepare  to  face  a  new  immigration. 

Here  then  we  have  two  great  causes  for  the  present 


r 


284  Pauperism  and  Alcoholism.       [Chap.  XIV. 

condition  of  the  Negro :  Slavery  and  emancipation  with 
their  attendant  phenomena  of  ignorance,  lack  of  discipline, 
and  moral  weakness  ;  immigration  witli  its  increased  com- 
petition and  moral  influence.  To  this  must  be  added  a 
third  as  great — possibly  greater  in  influence  than  the  other 
two,  namely  the  environment  in  which  a  Negro  finds  him- 
self— the  world  of  custom  and  thought  in  which  he  must 
live  and  work,  the  physical  surrounding  of  house  and 
home  and  ward,  the  mora!  encouragements  and  discourage- 
ments which  he  encounters.  We  dimly  seek  to  define  this 
social  environment  partially  when  we  talk  of  color  prejudice 
— but  this  is  but  a  vague  characterization ;  what  we  want 
to  study  is  not  a  vague  thought  or  feeling  but  its  concrete 
manifestations.  We  know  pretty  well  what  the  surround- 
ings are  of  a  young  white  lad,  or  a  foreign  immigrant  who 
comes  to  this  great  city  to  join  in  its  organic  life.  We 
know  what  influences  and  limitations  surround  him,  to 
what  he  may  attain,  what  his  companionships  are,  what  his 
encouragements  are,  what  his  drawbacks. 

This  we  must  know  in  regard  to  the  Negro  if  we  would 
study  his  social  condition.  His  strange  social  environment 
must  have  immense  efiect  on  his  thought  and  life,  his  work 
and  crime,  his  wealth  and  pauperism.  That  this  environ- 
ment differs  and  differs  broadly  from  the  environment  of 
his  fellows,  we  all  know,  but  we  do  not  know  just  how  it 
differs.  The  real  foundation  of  the  difference  is  the  wide- 
spread feeling  all  over  the  land,  in  Philadelphia  as  well  as 
in  Boston  and  New  Orleans,  that  the  Negro  is  something 
less  than  an  American  and  ought  not  to  be  much  more 
than  what  he  is.  Argue  as  we  may  for  or  against  this 
idea,  we  must  as  students  recognize  its  presence  and  its 
vast  effects. 

At  the  Eastern  Penitentiary  where  they  seek  so  far  as 
possible  to  attribute  to  definite  causes  the  criminal  record 
of  each  prisoner,  the  vast  influence  of  environment  is 
shown.     This  estimate  is  naturally  liable  to  error. 


ror,  but  the  J 


Sect  43,]     The  Causes  of  Crime  and  Poverty.  285 

peculiar  system  of  this  institution  and  the  long  service  and 
wide  experience  of  the  warden  and  his  subordinates  gives 
it  a  peculiar  and  unusual  value.  Of  the  541  Negro  prison- 
ers previously  studied  191  were  catalogued  as  criminals  by 
reason  of  "  natural  and  inherent  depravity. "  The  others 
were  divided  as  follows : 
Crimes  due  to 

(a)  Defects  of  the  law : 

Uxity  in  admiaistrBtion 33 

Unsuitable  laws  for  minor  offences 48 

Inefficient  police 22 

License  given  to  the  young 16 

Inefficient  laws  in  regard  to  saloons ix 

Poor  institutions  and  lack  of  institutions 12 

142 

(b)  Immediate  environment: 

Association 53 

Amusements 16 

Home  and  family  influences 25 

(c)  Lack  of  training,  lack  of  opportunity,  lack  of 

desire  to  work 56 

(</)  General  environment 6 

(^)  Disease 16 

(/)  Moral  weakness  and  unknown 36 

114 

This  rough  judgment  of  men  who  have  come  into  daily 
contact  with  five  hundred  Negro  criminals,  but  emphasizes 
the  fact  alluded  to  ;  the  immense  influence  of  his  peculiar 
environment  on  the  black  Philadelphian  ;  the  influence  of 
homes  badly  situated  and  badly  managed,  with  parents 
untrained  for  their  responsibilities ;  the  influence  of  social 
surroundings  which  by  poor  laws  and  inefficient  adminis- 
tration leave  the  bad  to  be  made  worse ;  the  influence  of 
economic  exclusion  which  admits  Negroes  only  to  those 
parts  of  the  economic  world  where  it  is  hardest  to  retain 
ambition  and  self-respect ;  and  finally  that  indefinable,  but 
real  and  mighty  moral  influence  that  causes  men  to  have 


286  Pauperism  and  Alcoholism.      [Chap.  XIV. 

a  real  sense  of  manhood  or  leads  them  to  lose  aspiration 
and  self-respect. 

For  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years  young  Negroes  have 
been  pouring  into  this  city  at  the  rate  of  a  thousand  a 
year ;  the  question  is  then  what  homes  they  find  or  make, 
what  neighbors  they  have,  how  they  amuse  themselves, 
and  what  work  they  engage  in  ?  Again,  into  what  sort  of 
homes  are  the  hundreds  of  Negro  babies  of  each  year 
born  ?  Under  what  social  influences  do  they  come,  what 
is  the  tendency  of  their  training,  and  what  places  in  life 
can  they  fill  ?  To  answer  all  these  questions  is  to  go  far 
toward  finding  the  real  causes  of  crime  and  pauperism 
among  this  race ;  the  next  two  chapters,  therefore,  take  up 
the  question  of  environment. 


LIBRARY  OF  THE 
LELAND  SUMFORD  JR.  UrJIVERSITY, 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  ENVIRONMENT  OF  THE  NEGRO. 

44.  Houses  and  Rent. — The  inquiry  of  1848  returned 
quite  full  statistics  of  rents  paid  by  the  Negroes.*  In 
the  whole  city  at  that  date  4019  Negro  families  paid 
$199,665.46  in  rent,  or  an  average  of  $49.68  per  family 
each  year.  Ten  years  earlier  the  average  was  $44  per 
family.  Nothing  better  indicates  the  growth  of  the  Negro 
population  in  numbers  and  power  when  we  compare  with 
this  the  figures  for  1 896  for  one  ward ;  in  that  year  the 
Negroes  of  the  Seventh  Ward  paid  $25,699.50  each  month 
in  rent,  or  $308,034  a  year,  an  average  of  $126.19  per 
annum  for  each  family.  This  ward  may  have  a  somewhat 
higher  proportion  of  renters  than  most  other  wards.  At 
the  lowest  estimate,  however,  the  Negroes  of  Philadelphia 
pay  at  least  $1,250,000  in  rent  each  year.' 

The  table  of  rents  for  1848  is  as  follows  (see  page  288): 
We  see  that  in  1848  the  average  Negro  family  rented  by 
the  month  or  quarter,  and  paid  between  four  and  five  dol- 
lars per  month  rent.  The  highest  average  rent  for  any 
section  was  less  than  fifteen  dollars  a  month.  For  such 
rents  the  poorest  accommodations  were  aflforded,  and  we 
know  from  descriptions  that  the  mass  of  Negroes  had  small 
and  unhealthful  homes,  usually  on  the  back  streets  and 
alleys.     The  rents   paid  to-day  in   the   Seventh  Ward, 

according    to    the  number    of    rooms,   are  tabulated  on 

page  289. 

— » 

»  "Condition,**  etc.,  1848,  p.  16. 

'  Not  taking  into  account  sub-rent  repaid  by  sub-tenants  ;  subtracting 
this  and  the  sum  would  be,  perhaps,  |i, 000,000— see  in/ra^  p.  291. 
That  paid  by  single  lodgers  ought  not,  of  course,  to  be  subtracted  as  it 
has  not  been  added  in. 

(a87) 


The  Environment  of  the  Negro.    [Chap.  XV. 


'>)iid|apiii|iid  luai 


ft  «    "^   R   <?  ■ 


^^|2fisajs=5 


i-lElss J ■ 


\    ft    5    S    8  ■ 


t     %     ^    ^    S 


i-i^is^s: 


^||ig|slg|gl^;^£||^ 


Sect  44.] 


Houses  and  Rent. 


389 


NSGRO  HOMHS.  ACCOMWNG   TO  RSNTS  AND  ROOII8.* 

Seventh  Ward,  Philadelphia. 

Number  of  Rooms. 

AmoaDt  of  Rent 

% 

||H 

I«r«onUi. 

I 

li 

ii 

1 

1 

1 

X 

i 

ii 

Free 

4 

I 

J1.00    .... 

1.50    -    ■■    . 

;                fo.oo 

5 

a.50    .... 

6 

.     .        15-00 

3.00    ...    . 

36 

.     .       108.00 

3SO   ■   ■   ■   ■ 

17 

■      -           59-So 

4.00   .... 

161 

660.00 

4-SO        ... 

=37 

3 

.      .       11.14.00 

5.50    ■    ■    .    . 

14 

.      -          88.00 

6.00 

175 

5     - 

.      I      IJ54.00 

6.50 

7-00    .... 

6 
39 

'7     ' 

:  :    .gS 

7.50    ■■■    ■ 

5 

.     .          67.50 

8.00    ...    . 

88 

0      ' 

.      I     1648.00 

8.50    ,    .    .    ,    . 

9.00 

3 

3 

J      9 

.      .        747a> 

9.50    ■        ■    .    . 

9-So 

17 

13    33 

3 

.      .       1110.00 

10.50    '.'.'.'.'. 

9    10 

:              363-^ 

11.50  ..■.."! 

8    , 

S   46 

I'l 

.  .  33.00 
.      .         139.00 

1300 

3 

.      .         569-00 

14-00 

8    11 

9 

\ 

700.00 

'S.00 

31 

1 170.00 

16.00 

38 

5 

.      .         960.00 

17.00 

1 

8 

aii.oo 

18.00 

5a 

l6]n.oa 

19.00 

6 

.       .           30900 

aooo 

50 
3 

35 

16 
4 
5 

7    t 

a 

.       .         3300.00 

.       .           394.00 

33.00   '...'.'. 

8 

i 

ii 

7     I 

34-00 

■ 

3 

27 

3! 

9    .       3»75.oo 

36.00-13,00    .    . 

4 

IS     3 

a     .         973.00 

30-00 

6 

15     7 

0    .       147000 

3500    ... 

; 

4     6 

9     .         875-00 

40-00 

I     4 

6     .         560.00 

45.00 

I     .         135.00 

50.00    ... 

65.00 

f  :    'e?:^ 

75-00 

.  .     75.00 

Owned   and   un- 

"1 

1 

known  .... 

3      ' 

13    12'  39'    r5;   i;! 

4  51    ... 

*  The  retnrns  as  to  reata  paid 
tics  gathered.    Tlie  amount  of  rent  is 


«r  per  f.mlly  . 
;iirperlndlvldn> 

the  most  reliable  of  the  statis* 
always  well-known,  and  there  are 


290  The  EtiviroHment  of  the  Negro.    [Chap.  XV. 

Condensing  this  table  somewhat  we  find  that  the  Negroes 
pay  rent  as  follows  : 

Under  ^9  per  month 490  families,  or  31.9  per  cenL 

$5  and  under  Jio 643       "  "  38.7        " 

|io    "         ■'      *I3 38"       "  "  17.0        " 

$15     "  "        }20 252  ■'  •'    II.3  " 

|M    "         "      J30 375       "  "   17.0        " 

I30  and  over 95       "         "'4-1       " 

The  lodging  system  so  prevalent  in  the  Seventh  Ward 
makes  some  rents  appear  higher  than  the  real  facts  warrant. 
This  ward  is  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  near  the  places  of 
employment  for  the  mass  of  the  people  and  near  the  centre 
of  their  social  life ;  consequently  people  crowd  here  in 
great  numbers.  Young  couples  just  married  engage  lodg- 
ing in  one  or  two  rooms ;  families  join  together  and  hire 
one  house  ;  and  numbers  of  families  take  in  single  lodgers ; 
thus  the  population  of  the  ward  is  made  up  of 

Families  owning  or  renting  their  homes  and  living 

alone 738,  or   31  per  cent. 

Families  owning  or  renting  their  homea,  who  lake 

lodgers  or  sub-renters 937,   "    38        " 

Families  sub-renting  underother  families 766,   "    31         " 

Total  individuals  .    ..." 7751  100        " 

Total  families 3441 

Individuals  lodging  with  families 1974 

Total  individuals 9675 

The  practice  of  sub-renting  is  found  of  course  in  all 
degrees  :  from  the  business  of  boarding-house  keeper  to  the 

few  motives  for  deception.  Moreover  in  Philadelphia  there  is  a  tendencj' 
to  build  rows  and  streets  of  houses  with  the  same  general  deidgn.  These 
rent  for  the  same  sum,  and  thus  particular  iostauces  of  false  report  are 
easily  detected.  One  feature  of  the  returns  must  be  noted.  (.  e. ,  the  large 
number  of  cases  where  high  rents  are  paid  for  one-  and  two-room  tene- 
ments. In  nearly  all  of  these  cases  this  rent  is  paid  for  large  froiit  bed- 
rooms in  good  localities,  and  often  includes  furniture.  Sometimes  a 
limited  use  of  the  family  kitchen  is  also  included.  In  such  cases  it  is 
misleading  to  call  these  one-room  tenements.  No  other  arrangement, 
however,  seemed  practical  in  these  tables. 


Sect  44-] 


Houses  and  Rent. 


391 


case  of  a  family  which  rents  out  its  spare  bed-chamber.  In 
the  first  case  the  rent  is  practically  all  repaid,  and  must  in 
some  cases  be  regarded  as  income  ;  in  the  other  cases  a 
small  fraction  of  the  rent  is  repaid  and  the  real  rent  and 
the  size  of  the  home  reduced.  Let  us  endeavor  to  deter- 
mine what  proportion  of  the  rents  of  the  Seventh  Ward 
are  repaid  in  sub-rents,  omitting  some  boarding  and  lodging- 
houses  where  the  sub-rent  is  really  the  income  of  the  house- 
wife. In  most  cases  the  room-rent  of  lodgers  covers  some 
return  for  the  care  of  the  room.  The  next  table  gives 
detailed  statistics : 


PaOPOSTIOM  OF  RBNT  RSPAtD  IN  SUB-KXMT. 

Negroes  0/  Seventh  Ward,  Pkitattelfihia. 


Monthly  Rent  P«M:  DoHan 

1 

a 
i 

I 

Proportion  Repaid 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 

3 
3 

2 
'. 

i 
1 
1 

1 

i 

1 
1 

i 
I 

i 

§ 

1*6 

s 
13 

7 
13 

if 

1 
1 

17 
55 
7 

23 

' 

: 

a 

i 

7 

9 
13 

31 

"9 

.4 
13 

1 

f 
1 

Approxi- 

Dollus.' 

One-eighth  re 
One-siith 
One-fourth 
One-tbird 
One-half 
Two-thirds 
Three-fourtha 
Four-fifths 
Whole  rent 
More    than 
whole  rent 

p'd 

he 
re- 

It 
3; 

4 

3 
3 

s 

17 

34 

6 

„ 

5 

■ 

6 

i 

6 

'3 

6a 

19 

99 

170 
343 

"S, 

94 

937 

61. oS 

9.16 

460.51 

871.33 

1748.75 
1246.^ 

48.00 
3167.00 

Unknown     . 

Total  families 

Appro. ima 

toUl    of    SI 

rent   rcpa 

moathly   , 

te 

b- 
id 

8813.24 

It  appears  from  this  table  that  nearly  $9000  is  paid  by 
the  sub-renting  families  and  lodgers  to  the  renting  families. 
A  part  of  this  ought  to  be  subtracted  from  the  total  rent 


r 


agz  The  Environment  of  the  Negro.    [Chap.  XV. 

paid  if  we  would  get  at  the  net  rent;  just  how  much, 
however,  should  be  called  wages  for  care  of  room,  or 
other  conveniences  furnished  sub-renters,  it  is  difficult  to 
say.  Possibly  the  net  rent  of  the  ward  is  $20,000,  and  of 
the  city  about  $1,000,000.' 

The  accommodations  furnished  for  the  rent  paid  must 
now  be  considered.  The  number  of  rooms  occupied  is  the 
simplest  measurement,  but  is  not  very  satisfactory  in  this 
case  owing  to  the  lodging  system  which  makes  it  difficult 
to  say  how  many  rooms  a  family  really  occupies.  A  very 
large  number  of  families  of  two  and  three  rent  a  single 
bedroom  and  these  must  be  regarded  as  one-room  tenants, 
and  yet  this  renting  of  a  room  often  includes  a  limited 
use  of  a  common  kitchen ;  on  the  other  band  this  sub- 
renting family  cannot  in  justice  be  counted  as  belonging 
to  the  renting  family.     The  figures  are: 

Big  families  live  in  1  room,  inclnding  families  lodging,  or  35.2  per  cent. 


The  number  of  families  occupying  one  room  is  here 
exaggerated  as  before  shown  by  the  lodging  system ;  on 
the  other  baud  the  number  occupying  six  rooms  and  more 
is  also  somewhat  exaggerated  by  the  fact  that  not  all 
sub-rented  rooms  have  been  subtracted,  although  this  has 
been  done  as  far  as  possible. 

Of  the  2441  families  only  334  had  access  to  bathrooms 
aud  water-closets,  or  13,7  per  cent.  Even  these  334  fami- 
lies have  poor  accommodations  in  most  instances.  Many 
share  the  use  of  one  bath-room  with  one  or  more  other 
families.  The  bath-tubs  usually  are  not  supplied  with  hot 
water  and  very  often  have  no  water-connection  at  all.  This 
condition    is  largely  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Seventh 


Sect  44-] 


Houses  and  Rent. 


293 


Ward  belongs  to  the  older  part  of  Philadelphia,  built 
when  vaults  in  the  yards  were  used  exclusively  and  bath- 
rooms could  not  be  given  space  in  the  small  houses.  This 
was  not  so  unhealthful  before  the  houses  were  thick 
and  when  there  were  large  back  yards.  To-day,  however, 
the  back  yards  have  been  filled  by  tenement  houses  and  the 
bad  sanitary  results  are  shown  in  the  death  rate  of  the  ward. 

Even  the  remaining  yards  are  disappearing.  Of  the 
1751  families  making  returns,  933  had  a  private  yard 
12  X  12  feet,  or  larger  ;  312  had  a  private  yard  smaller  than 
12 X  12  feet;  507  had  either  no  yard  at  all  or  a  yard  and 
outhouse  in  common  with  the  other  denizens  of  the  tene- 
ment or  alley. 

Of  the  latter  only  sixteen  families  had  water-closets.  So 
that  over  20  per  cent  and  possibly  30  per  cent  of  the  Negro 
families  of  this  ward  lack  some  of  the  very  elementary 
accommodations  necessary  to  health  and  decency.  And 
this  too  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  are  paying  compara- 
tively high  rents.  Here  too  there  comes  another  consider- 
ation, and  that  is  the  lack  of  public  urinals  and  water-closets 
in  this  ward  and,  in  fact,  throughout  Philadelphia.  The 
result  is  that  the  clt^ets  of  tenements  are  used  by  the 
public.  A  couple  of  diagrams  will  illustrate  this;  the 
houses  of  older  Philadelphia  were  built  like  this  ; 


A   HOME 

B  OUTHOUSE 

C  YARD 

D  PASSAGE  TO  STREET 


When,  however,  certain  districts  like  the  Seventh  Ward 
became  crowded  and  given  over  to  tenants,  the  thirst  for 


r 


The  Environment  of  Che  Negro.    [Cliap,  XV. 


money^etting  led  landlords  in  large  numbers  of  cases  to 
build  up  tbeir  back  yards  like  this : 


A  FRONT  TENEMENT  FACING  ST, 
C  BACK  TENEMENT  FACING  ALLEY 
D   ALLEY 

D  C0h*MON  OUTHOUSE 
FOR  3  TENANTS 


This  is  the  origin  of  numbers  of  the  blind  alleys  and 
dark  holes  which  make  some  parts  of  the  Fifth,  Seventh 
and  Eighth  Wards  notorious.  The  closets  in  such  cases  are 
sometimes  divided  into  compartments  for  different  tenants, 
but  in  many  cases  not  even  this  is  done ;  and  in  all  cases 
the  alley  closet  becomes  a  public  resort  for  pedestrians  and 
loafers.  The  back  tenements  thus  formed  rent  usually  for 
from  $7  to  $9  a  month,  and  sometimes  for  more.  They 
consist  of  three  rooms  one  above  the  other,  small,  poorly 
lighted  and  poorly  ventilated.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
alley  are  at  the  mercy  of  its  worst  tenants ;  here  policy 
shops  abound,  prostitutes  ply  their  trade,  and  criminals 
hide.  Most  of  these  houses  have  to  get  their  water  at  a 
hydrant  in  the  alley,  and  must  store  their  fuel  in  the 
house.  These  tenement  abominations  of  Philadelphia  are 
perhaps  better  than  the  vast  tenement  houses  of  New  York, 
but  they  are  bad  enough,  and  cry  for  reform  in  housing. 

The  fairly  comfortable  working  class  live  in  houses  of 
3-6  rooms,  with  water  in  the  house,  but  seldom  with  a 
bath.  A  three  room  house  on  a  small  street  rents  from 
$10  up ;  on  Lombard  street  a  5-8  room  house  can  be 
rented  for  from  $18  to  I30  according  to  location.  The 
great  mass  of  comfortably  situated  working  people  live  in 
houses  of  6-10  rooms,  and  sub-rent  a  part  or  take  lodgers, 
A  5-7  room  house  on  South  Eighteenth  street  can  be  had 
for  $20 ;   on  Florida  street  for  $18  ;  such  houses  have 


Sect  44.]  Houses  and  Rent.  295 

usually  a  parlor,  diuing  room  and  kitchen  on  the  first  floor 
and  two  to  four  bedrooms,  of  which  one  or  two  are  apt  to 
be  rented  to  a  waiter  or  coachman  for  $4  a  month,  or  to  a 
married  couple  at  $6-10  a  month.  The  more  elaborate 
houses  are  on  Lombard  street  and  its  cross  streets. 

The  rents  paid  by  the  Negroes  are  without  doubt  far 
above  their  means  and  often  from  one-fourth  to  three-fourths 
of  the  total  income  of  a  family  goes  in  rent  This  leads  to 
much  non-payment  of  rent  both  J  intentional  and  uninten- 
tional, to  frequent  shifting  of  homes,  and  above  all  to 
stinting  the  families  in  many  necessities  of  life  in  order  to 
live  in  respectable  dwellings.  Many  a  Negro  family  eats 
less  than  it  ought  for  the  sake  of  living  in  a  decent 
house. 

Some  of  this  waste  of  money  in  rent  is  sheer  ignorance 
and  carelessness.  The  Negroes  have  an  inherited  distrust 
of  banks  and  companies,  and  have  long  neglected  to  take 
part  in  Building  and  I^oan  Associations.  Others  are  simply 
careless  in  the  spending  of  their  money  and  lack  the 
shrewdness  and  business  sense  of  differently  trained  peoples. 
Ignorance  and  carelessness  however  will  not  explain  all 
or  even  the  greater  part  of  the  problem  of  rent  among 
Negroes.  There  are  three  causes  of  even  greater  impor* 
tance :  these  are  the  limited  localities  where  Negroes  may 
rent,  the  peculiar  connection  of  dwelling  and  occupation 
among  Negroes  and  the  social  organization  of  the  Negro. 
The  undeniable  fact  that  most  Philadelphia  white  people 
prefer  not  to  live  near  Negroes*  limits  the  Negro  very 
seriously  in  his  choice  of  a  home  and  especially  in  the 
choice  of  a  cheap  home.  Moreover,  real  estate  agents 
knowing  the  limited  supply  usually  raise  the  rent  a  dollar 
or  two  for  Negro  tenants,  if  they  do  not  refuse  them 
altogether.  Again,  the  occupations  which  the  Negro 
follows,  and  which  at  present  he  is  compelled  to  follow,  are 


*  The  sentiment  has  greatly  lessened  in  intensity  during  the  last  two 
decades,  but  it  is  still  strong ;  cf.  section  47. 


r 


296  The  Environment  of  Ike  Negro.     [Chap.  XV. 

of  a  sort  that  makes  it  necessary  for  him  to  live  near  the 
best  portions  of  the  city ;  the  mass  of  Negroes  are  in  the 
economic  world  purveyors  to  the  rich — working  in  private 
houses,  in  hotels,  large  stores,  etc.*  In  order  to  keep  this 
work  they  must  live  near  by;  the  laundress  cannot  bring 
her  Spruce  street  family's  clothes  from  the  Thirtieth  Ward, 
nor  can  the  waiter  at  the  Continental  Hotel  lodge  in 
Gennantown.  With  the  mass  of  white  workmen  this  same 
necessity  of  living  near  work,  does  not  hinder  them  from 
getting  cheap  dwellings;  the  factory  is  surrounded  by 
cheap  cottages,  the  foundry  by  long  rows  of  houses,  and 
even  the  white  clerk  and  shop  girl  can,  on  account  of  their 
hours  of  labor,  afford  to  live  further  out  in  the  suburbs 
than  the  black  porter  who  opens  the  store.  Thus  it  is 
clear  that  the  nature  of  the  Negro's  work  compels  him  to 
crowd  into  the  centre  of  the  city  much  more  than  is  the 
case  with  the  mass  of  white  working  people.  At  the  same 
time  this  necessity  is  apt  in  some  cases  to  be  overestimated, 
and  a  few  hours  of  sleep  or  convenience  serve  to  persuade 
a  good  many  families  to  endure  poverty  in  the  Seventh 
Ward  when  they  might  be  comfortable  in  the  Twenty- 
fourth  Ward.  Nevertheless  much  of  the  Negro  problem  in 
this  city  finds  adequate  explanation  when  we  reflect  that 
here  is  a  people  receiving  a  little  lower  wages  than  usual 
for  less  desirable  work,  and  compelled,  in  order  to  do  that 
work,  to  live  in  a  little  less  pleasant  quarters  than  most 
people,  and  pay  for  them  somewhat  higher  rents. 

The  final  reason  of  the  concentration  of  Negroes  in 
certain  localities  is  a  social  one  and  one  peculiarly  strong : 
the  life  of  the  Negroes  of  the  city  has  for  years  centred  in 
the  Seventh  Ward  ;  here  are  the  old  churches,  St,  Thomas, 
Bethel,  Central,  Shiloh  and  Wesley  ;  here  are  the  halls  of 
the  secret  societies  ;  here  are  the  homesteads  of  old  families. 
To  a  race  socially  ostracised  it  means  far  more  to  move  to 

•  .U  the  same  time,  from  long  custom  and  from  competition,  their 
vagei  for  this  norlc  are  not  high. 


Sect  44.]  Houses  and  Rent.  297 

remote  parts  of  a  city,  than  to  those  who  will  in  any  part 
of  the  city  easily  form  congenial  acquaintances  and  new  ties. 
The  Negro  who  ventures  away  from  the  mass  of  his  people 
and  their  organized  life,  finds  himself  alone,  shunned  and 
taunted,  stared  at  and  made  uncomfortable ;  he  can  make 
few  new  friends,  for  his  neighbors  however  well-disposed 
would  shrink  to  add  a  Negro  to  their  list  of  acquaint- 
ances.* Thus  he  remains  far  from  friends  and  the  con- 
centred social  life  of  the  church,  and  feels  in  all  its 
bitterness  what  it  means  to  be  a  social  outcast.  Con- 
sequently emigration  from  the  ward  has  gone  in  groups  and 
centred  itself  about  some  church,  and  individual  initiative 
is  thus  checked.  At  the  same  time  color  prejudice  makes 
it  difficult  for  groups  to  find  suitable  places  to  move  to — 
one  Negro  family  would  be  tolerated  where  six  would  be 
objected  to ;  thus  we  have  here  a  very  decisive  hindrance 
to  emigration  to  the  suburbs. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  this  situation  leads  to  consider- 
able crowding  in  the  homes,  z.  e, ,  to  the  endeavor  to  get  as 
many  people  into  the  space  hired  as  possible.  It  is  this 
crowding  that  gives  the  casual  observer  many  false  notions 
as4o  the  size  of  Negro  families,  since  he  often  forgets  that 
every  other  house  has  its  sub-renters  and  lodgers.  It  is 
however  difficult  to  measure  this  crowding  on  account  of 
this  very  lodging  system  which  makes  it  very  often  un- 
certain as  to  just  the  number  of  rooms  a  given  group  of 
people  occupy.  In  the  following  table  therefore  it  is  likely 
that  the  number  of  rooms  given  is  somewhat  greater  than  is 
really  the  case  and  that  consequently  there  is  more  crowd- 
ing than  is  indicated.  This  error  however  could  not  be 
wholly  eliminated  under  the  circumstances  ;  a  study  of  the 
table  (page  298)  shows  that  in  the  Seventh  Ward  there  are 
9302  rooms  occupied  by  2401  families,  an  average  of  3.8 
rooms  to  a  family,  and  1.04  individuals  to  a  room.  A 
division  by  rooms  will  better  show  where  the  crowding 
comes  in. 


398 


The  Environment  of  the  Negro.    [Chap.  XV. 


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Sect  45.]  Sections  and  Wards.  299 

Families  occupying  five  rooms  and  less:  1648,  total  rooms 
per  family,  2.17  ;  total  individuals  per  room,  1.53. 

Families  occupying  three  rooms  and  less:  1350,  total  rooms 
per  family,  1.63  ;  total  individuals  per  room,  1.85. 

The  worst  cases  of  crowding  are  as  follows : 

Two  cases  of  10  persons  in  i  room. 
One  case  of      9        **  i     " 

Five  cases  of    7        **  i     ** 

Six  cases  of      6        **         i     " 
Twenty-five  cases  of  5  persons  in  i  room. 
One  case  of   9  persons  in  2  rooms. 
One  case  of  16       **  3     ** 

One  case  of  13       •*  3     ** 

One  case  of  11       "  3      ** 

As  said  before,  this  is  probably  something  under  the  real 
truth,  although  perhaps  not  greatly  so.  The  figures  show 
considerable  overcrowding,  but  not  nearly  as  much  as  is 
often  the  case  in  other  cities.  This  is  largely  due  to  the 
character  of  Philadelphia  houses,  which  are  small  and  low, 
and  will  not  admit  [many  inmates.  Five  persons  in  one 
room  of  an  ordinary  tenement  would  be  almost  suffocating. 
The  large  number  of  one- room  tenements  with  two  persons 
should  be  noted.  These  572  families  are  for  the  most  part 
young  or  childless  couples,  sub-renting  a  bed-room  and 
working  in  the  city.^ 

45.  Sections  and  Wards. — ^The  spread  of  Negro  popu- 
lation in  the  city  during  the  nineteenth  century  is  worth 
studying.  In  1793,*  one-fourth  of  the  black  inhabitants 
—or  538  petsons — lived  north  of  Market  street  and  south 
of  Vine,  and  were  either  in  the  homes  of  white  families  as 

^  One  room  nnder  such  circumstances  may  not  by  any  means  denote 
excessive  poverty  or  indecency ;  the  room  is  usually  rented  in  a  good 
locality  and  is  well  furnished.    Cf.  note  3. 

'  During  the  plague  of  that  year  a  census  of  the  inhabitants  remain- 
ing in  the  city  was  taken.  Five-sixths  of  the  Negroes  remained,  so  the 
census  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  distribution  of  the  Negro  population. 
The  results  are  published  in  the  report  printed  afterward  by  order  of 
Councils. 


300 


The  Environment  of  the  Negro,    [Chap.  XV. 


servants,  or  in  the  alleys,  as  Shively's,  Pewter  Platter, 
Croomb's,  Sugar,  Cresson's,  etc.  Between  Market  and  South 
lived  one-half  of  the  blacks,  crowded  in  a  region  that  cen- 
tred at  Sixth  and  Lombard :  in  Strawberry  alley  and  lane. 
Elbow  lane.  Grey's  alley,  Shippen's  alley,  etc.,  besides  in 
the  families  of  the  whites  on  Walnut,  Spruce,  Pine,  etc 
The  remaining  fourth  of  the  population  was  in  Southwark, 
south  of  South  street,  and  in  the  Northern  Liberties,  north 
of  Vine.     Details  are  given  in  the  next  table : 

NUMBBR  AND  DISTRIBUTION  OP  THK  NSGRO  INHABITANTS  OF  PHII«A- 

DBI.PHIA  IN  1793 — October  to  Dscbmbsr. 

(Taken  from  the  Census  of  the  Plague  Committee.) 
Bbtwbbn  Market  and  Vznb  Strbbts. 


streets,  etc. 

Market 

Water 

Front 

Second 

Third 

Fourth 

Fifth 

Sixth . 

Seventh 

Eighth 

Ninth 

Arch 

Race 

Vine  (south  side)  . 

New 

Church  alley    .   .   . 


Negroes. 

63 

31 
40 

37 
42 

24 

32 

8 

13 

3 

56 

38 
9 

3 

2 


streets,  etc. 
Quarry  .    .   . 
Cherry  alley 
South  alley  . 
North  alley  . 
Sugar  alley  . 
Appletree  alley 
Cresson's  alley 
Shively's  alley 
Pewter  Platter  alley 
Croomb's  alley 
Baker's  alley   . 
Brooks'  court  . 
Priest's  alley    , 
Says  alley     .   , 


Total  . 


streets,  etc. 


Water    . 
Front . 
Second  , 
Third.   , 
Fourth 
Fifth  .   , 
Sixth  . 
Seventh 
Eighth  . 
Ninth     . 


Bbtwbbn  Markbt  and  South  Strbbts. 

Negroes.  Streets,  etc. 

...  12  Penn 

.    .   .        129  Chestnut  .... 

...        116  Walnut 

...         66  Spruce 

...         81  Pine 

...         63  South  (north  side) 

...         37  Strawberry  lane  . 

...  o  Strawberry  alley 

...         16  Elbow  lane  .   .   . 

...  o  Beetles'  alley  .   . 


Negroes. 

4 

25 

I 

4 

14 

7 
10 

II 

3 
5 

7 

I 

6 
6 


•   .   • 


538 


Negroes. 

II 

50 

83 
66 

31 
32 

4 

2 

10 
5 


Sect  45.] 


Sections  and  Wards. 


301 


Streeti,  etc. 
Grey's  alley  . 
Norris  alley     . 

Dock 

Union    .... 
Cjrpress  alley  . 

Pear 

Lombard  .   .   . 
Emslie*8  alley . 
Laurel  court 
Shippen's  alley 


Negroes.  Streets,  etc. 

13  Willing*9  alley    . 

4  Blackberry  alley 

5  Carpenter.   .   .   . 
32  Gaskill 

I  Georges  to  South 

5  Little  Water    .   . 
57  Stamper's  alley  . 

6  Taylor's  alley .    . 
I  York  court  .   .   . 

26 


Total 


North  BAN  I^bbrtxbs. 


Streets,  etc 

Water 

Front 

Second 

Third 

Fourth 

Fifth 

Vine  (north  side)  .  .  . 

Callowhill 

Noble,  or  Bloody  lane  . 
Artillery  lane  (or  Duke) 


Negroes. 
I 
59 

I 

3 
I 

18 

10 

4 
26 


streets,  etc. 


Green  .  .  . 
Coates  •  .  . 
Brown  .  .  . 
Cable  lane  . 
St.  John  .  . 
St.  Tammany 
Willow.  .  . 
Wood's  alley 
Crown    .   •  • 


District  of  Soxtthwaxuc 


Streets,  etc. 

Swanson 

South  Penn 

Front 

Second 

Third 

Fifth 

Cedar  court  (south  side) 

Shippen 

Almond 

Catharine 


Negroes.  Streets,  etc. 

22  Christian  .   .   .   .   , 

3  Queen 

15  Meade's  alley  •  .  . 

22  German 

34  Plumb 

5  Moll  Tuller's  alley 

19  George 

50  Ball  alley 

9  Crabtree  alley .  •   . 

33 


Total 


Summary. 


Negroes. 

I 
2 

7 

7 

5 

5 
8 

I 
7 

1007 

Negroes. 
6 
32 

15 

I 

6 

2 
I 
I 

3 


Total ...       233 


Negroes. 

6 

5 
10 

3 

5 

4 
8 

3 

2 


Between  Market  and  Vine  streets 538 

Between  Market  and  South  streets 1007 

North  of  Vine  street  ....       233 

South  of  South  street 258 

Total    .   .       2036 

Total  inhabitants  of  county  by  census  of  1790  ....  2489 


The  Environment  of  Ike  Negro.    [Chap,  XV. 
1,  nearly  a  half  ceutury, 


The  chaiig;es  from  1793  to  i. 
may  thus  be  shown: 


Place. 

'793- 

.SJB. 

City 

Northern  Liberties 

Spring  Garden 

Southwark 

1545—750% 

8462-60% 

8781 

359  [1744-15% 
507  J 
^|;}3385-=5% 

Total 

aojS 

13. 591  +  5000  Herrants. 

Thus  we  see  in  1838  that  the  centre  of  Negro  population 
had  gone  southward  toward  Moyamensing.  The  Cedar, 
Locust,  Newmarket,  Pine  and  South  Wards,  as  they  were 
then  called,  had  the  bulk  of  the  population,  and  they  cor- 
responded approximately  to  the  Fourth,  Fifth,  Seventh  and 
Eighth  Wards  of  to-day. 

Ten  years  later  than  this,  in  1848,°  we  have  a  more 
detailed  account  of  the  distribution  of  the  Negroes  in  the 
various  sections  of  the  city.  They  were  mostly  crowded 
into  narrow  courts  and  alleys.  The  colored  population 
north  of  Vine  and  east  of  Sixth  streets  consisted  of  272 
families  with  1385  persons.  One  hundred  and  one  families 
of  these  (415  persons)  lived  on  Apple  street  and  its  courts, 
and  in  Paschall's  alley  (now  Lynd  street).  Apple  street 
itself,  including  Hick's  court,  had  37  families,  with  138 
persons,  living  in  16  houses;  Shotwell's  row,  on  the  same 
street,  had  16  families  with  65  persons  in  7  houses;  the 
rooms  were  about  8  feet  square.  Paschall's  alley  contained 
48  families  with  212  persons,  in  28  houses  ;  one  house  had 
7  families,  33  persons,  living  in  13  rooms,  8  feet  square. 
The  rent  of  the  whole  house  was  $266  per  year  ;  "  yet  all 
of  them  \i.  e.,  these  families]  have  comfortible  beds  and 
bedding." 

About  a  third  of  the  total  Negro  population  of  Moya- 


'  The  figures  for  iSjS  and  1848  a 
r.  census  of  1840. 


;  from  the  inquiries  of  those  dates ; 


Sect  45.]  Sections  and  Wards.  303 

mensing  (the  district  "  south  of  Cedar  street  and  west  of 
Passyunk  road  ")  was  crowded  into  the  space  between  Fifth 
and  Eighth  streets,  and  South  and  Fitzwater ;  for  instance  : 

Families.  Families. 

Shippen  street 55  Black  Horse  aUey 5 

Bedford  street 63  Button's  court 9 

Small  street 73  Yeager's  court 9 

Baker  street 21  Dickerson's  court 5 

Seventh  and  South  streets  .   .  14  Britton's  court 5 

Spafibrd  street 16  Cryder's  court 4 

Fre3rtag*s  alley 9  Sherman's  court 13 

Prosperous  alley 11 


Total 302 

"  It  is  in  this  district  and  in  the  adjoining  portion  of  the 
city,  especially  Mary  street  and  its  vicinity,  that  the  great 
destitution  and  wretchedness  exist "  The  personal  property 
of  176  of  the  above  302  families  is  returned  as  $603.50,  or 
$3.43  per  family  ;  1 5  families  (42  persons)  on  Small  street 
(Alaska  street)  above  Sixth,  have  their  whole  property  val- 
ued at  $7.  Most  of  these  Negroes  were  rag-pickers,  and  29 
out  of  42  families  were  not  natives  of  the  State.  Mary 
street  and  its  courts  had  80  families,  with  281  persons  living 
in  35  houses.  Some  were  industrious  and  temperate,  but 
there  was  "much  surrounding  misery."  In  Gile's  alley 
(from  Cedar  to  Lombard  street)  were  42  families,  147  per- 
sons, in  20  houses.  Eighty-three  of  these  persons  were  not 
natives  of  the  State,  and  13  of  the  families  received  public 
charity.  A  description  of  this  district  in  1847  is  inte- 
resting : 

"  The  vicinity  of  the  place  we  sought  was  pointed  out 
by  a  large  number  of  colored  people  congregated  on  the 
neighboring  pavements.  We  first  inspected  the  rooms, 
yards  and  cellars  of  the  four  or  five  houses  next  above 
Baker  street  on  Seventh.  The  cellars  were  wretchedly 
dark,  damp  and  dirty,  and  were  generally  rented  for  twelve 
and  a  half  cents  per  night  These  are  occupied  by  one  or 
more  families  at  the  present  time,  but  in  the  winter  season 
when  the  frost  drives  those  who  in  summer  sleep  abroad  in 


r 


304  The  Environment  of  the  Negro.    [Chap.  XV. 

fieldi,  in  boardyards  and  in  sheds,  to  seek  more  effectual 
shelter,  they  often  contain  from  twelve  to  twenty  lodgers 
per  night.  Commencing  at  the  back  of  each  house  are 
small  wooden  buildings  roughly  put  together,  about  six 
feet  square,  without  windows  or  fireplaces,  a  hole  about  a 
foot  square  being  left  in  front  along  side  of  the  door  to  let 
in  fresh  air  and  light,  and  to  let  out  foul  air  and  smoke. 
These  desolate  pens,  the  roofs  of  which  are  generally  leaky, 
and  their  floors  so  low  that  more  or  less  water  comes  in  on 
them  from  the  yard  in  rainy  weather,  would  not  give  com- 
fortable winter  accommodations  to  a  cow.  Although  as 
dismal  as  dirt,  damp  and  insufficient  ventilation  can  make 
them,  they  are  nearly  all  inhabited.  In  one  of  the  first  we 
entered,  we  found  the  dead  body  of  a  large  Negro  man 
who  had  died  suddenly  there.  This  pen  was  about  eight 
feet  deep  by  six  wide.  There  was  no  bedding  in  it,  but  a 
box  or  two  around  the  sides  furnished  places  where  two 
colored  persons,  one  said  to  be  the  wife  of  the  deceased, 
were  lying  either  drunk  or  fast  asleep.  The  body  of  the  dead 
man  was  on  the  wet  floor  beneath  an  old  torn  coverlet"  "* 

In  1853  a  similar  description  of  the  crime,  filth  and 
poverty  of  this  district  shows  us  that  the  present  shims 
do  not  compare  with  those  in  misfortune  and  deprav- 
ity. "  Much  of  this  poverty  and  degradation  could  in 
1847  be  laid  at  the  door  of  the  new  imuiigrants,  and 
although  some  of  the  immigrants  were  in  good  circum- 
stances, yet  in  general  most  of  the  poverty  was  found 
where  most  of  the  immigrants  were.  The  immigrants 
formed  the  following  percentages  of  the  total  population  in 
1847: 

City 47.7  per  cent 

Moyamensing 46,3        " 

Southwark 35.9        " 

West  Philadelphia 34.3        *' 

Spring  Garden 31.4        " 

Northern  Liberties 14.1        " 

^  "  Condition  of  Negroes,"  1848,  pp.  34-41. 

"  "Uyateriea  and  Miseries  of  Philadelphia."    (Pamphlet.) 


Sect  45.]  Sections  and  Wards.  305 

The  historic  centre  of  Negro  settlement  in  the  city  can 
thus  be  seen  to  be  at  Sixth  and  Lombard.  From  this  point 
it  moved  north,  as  is  indicated  for  instance  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  Zoar  Church  in  1794.  Immigration  of  foreign- 
ers and  the  rise  of  industries,  however,  early  began  to  turn 
it  back  and  it  found  outlet  in  the  alleys  of  Southwark  and 
Moyamensing.  For  a  while  about  1840  it  was  bottled  up 
here,  but  finally  it  began  to  move  west.  A  few  early  left 
the  mass  and  settled  in  West  Philadelphia ;  the  rest  began 
a  slow  steady  movement  along  Lombard  street.  The 
influx  of  1876  and  thereafter  sent  the  waye  across  Broad 
street  to  a  new  centre  at  Seventeenth  and  Lombard.  There 
it  divided  into  two  streams ;  one  went  north  and  joined 
remnants  of  the  old  settlers  in  the  Northern  Liberties  and 
Spring  Garden.  The  other  went  south  to  the  Twenty- 
sixth,  Thirtieth  and  Thirty-sixth  Wards.  Meantime  the 
new  immigrants  poured  in  at  Seventh  and  Lombard,  while 
Sixth  and  Lombard  down  to  the  Delaware  was  deserted  to 
the  Jews,  and  Moyamensing  partially  to  the  Italians* 
The  Irish  were  pushed  on  beyond  Eighteenth  to  the 
Schuylkill,  or  emigrated  to  the  mills  of  Kensington  and 
elsewhere.  The  course  may  be  thus  graphically  repre- 
sented (see  page  306) : 

This  migration  explains  much  that  is  paradoxical  about 
Negro  slums,  especially  their  present  remnant  at  Seventh 
and  Lombard.  Many  people  wonder  that  the  mission  and 
reformatory  agencies  at  work  there  for  so  many  years  have 
so  little  to  show  by  way  of  results.  One  answer  is  that 
this  work  has  new  material  continually  to  work  upon, 
while  the  best  classes  move  to  the  west  and  leave  the  dregs 
behind.  The  parents  and  grandparents  of  some  of  the 
best  families  of  Philadelphia  Negroes  were  born  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Sixth  and  Lombard  at  a  time  when  all 
Negroes,  good,  bad  and  indifferent,  were  confined  to  that 
and  a  few  other  localities.  With  the  greater  freedom  of 
domicile  which  has  since  come,  these  slum  districts  have 
20 


r 


306 


77;.?  Environment  of  tJie  Negro.    [Chap.  XV. 


sent  a  stream  of  emigrants  westward.  There  has,  too,  been 
a  general  movement  from  the  alleys  to  the  streets  and 
from  the  back  to  the  front  streets.     Moreover  it  is  uutnie 


Nkgro  Population,  1790-1890. 


that  the  slums  of  Seventh  and  I^ombard  have  not  greatly 
changed  iu  character ;  compared  with  1840,  1850  or  even 
1870  these  slums  are  much  improved  in  every  way.     More 


J 


Sect  45*]  Sections  and  Wards.  yyj 

and  more  every  year  the  unfortunate  and  poor  are  being 
sifted  out  from  the  vicious  and  criminal  and  sent  to  better 
quarters. 

And  yet  with  all  the  obvious  improvement,  there  are  still 
slums  and  dangerous  slums  left  Of  the  Fifth  Ward  and  ad- 
joining parts  of  the  Seventh,  a  city  health  inspector  says : 

"  Few  of  the  houses  are  underdrained,  and  if  the  closets 
have  sewer  connections  the  people  are  too  careless  to  keep 
them  in  order.  The  streets  and  alleys  are  strewn  with 
garbage,  excepting  immediately  after  the  visit  of  the  street 
cleaner.  Penetrate  into  one  of  these  houses  and  beyond 
into  the  back  yard,  if  there  is  one  (frequently  there  is  not), 
and  there  will  be  found  a  pile  of  ashes,  garbage  and  filth, 
the  accumulation  of  the  winter,  perhaps  of  the  whole  year. 
In  such  heaps  of  refuse  what  disease  germ  may  be  breed- 
ing?"" 

To  take  a  typical  case : 

"  Gillis'  Alley,  famed  in  the  Police  Court,  is  a  narrow 
alley,  extending  from  Lombard  street  through  to  South 
street,  above  Fifth  street,  cobbled  and  without  sewer  con- 
nections. Houses  and  stables  are  mixed  promiscuously. 
Buildings  are  of  frame  and  of  brick.  No.  —  looks  both 
outside  and  in  like  a  Southern  Negro's  cabin.  In  this 
miserable  place  four  colored  families  have  their  homes. 
The  aggregate  rent  demanded  is  $22  a  month,  though  the 
owner  seldom  receives  the  full  rent  For  three  small  dark 
rooms  in  the  rear  of  another  house  in  this  alley,  the  tenants 
pay,  and  have  paid  for  thirteen  years,  $11  a  month.  The 
entrance  is  by  a  court  not  over  two  feet  wide.  Except  at 
midday  the  sun  does  not  shine  in  the  small  open  space  in 
the  rear  that  answers  for  a  yard.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  not 
i  one  house  in  this  alley  could  pass  an  inspection  without 
being  condemned  as  prejudicial  to  health.  But  if  they  are 
so  condemned  and  cleaned,  with  such  inhabitants  how  long 
will  they  remain  clean  ?  "  ^' 

^'  Dr.  Frances  Van  Gasken  in  a  tract  published  by  the  Civic  Club. 


3o8 


TSe  Environment  of  the  Negro.    [Chap.  XV. 


Some  of  the  present  characteristics  of  the  chief  alleys 
where  Negroes  live  are  given  in  the  following  table  : 


■  li  ;  L&  5  I  ^ 


Uaoof.aa«33|i 


I  :  I  ;i  |5||  j  S|  I 


I "  I  ;i  "  sM  I  ;| 


-Ijnoa  tiJaoinx 


III 


'wioijwoM  pn« 


j   S    5i   Ij 


41- 


1  I  ^s  ->  =M 


™""  ''iSjf "" 


IJIOD  B.))3A°0 


I    -s|l  -I 


Sect  46.]      Social  Classes  and  Amusements.  309 

The  general  characteristics  and  distribution  of  the  Negro 
population  at  present  in  the  different  wards  can  only  be 
indicated  in  general  terms.  The  wards  with  the  best  Negro 
population  are  parts  of  the  Seventh,  Twenty-sixth,  Thir- 
tieth and  Thirty-sixth,  Fourteenth,  Fifteenth,  Twenty- 
fourth,  Twenty-seventh  and  Twenty-ninth.  The  worst 
Negro  population  is  found  in  parts  of  the  Seventh,  and  in 
the  Fourth,  Fifth  and  Eighth.  In  the  other  wards  either 
the  classes  are  mixed  or  there  are  very  few  colored  people. 
The  tendency  of  the  best  migration  to-day  is  toward  the 
Twenty-sixth,  Thirtieth  and  Thirty-sixth  Wards,  and  West 
Philadelphia. 

46.  Social  Classes  and  Amusements. — Notwithstanding 
the  large  influence  of  the  physical  environment  of  home 
and  ward,  nevertheless  there  is  a  far  mightier  influence  to 
mold  and  make  the  citizen,  and  that  is  the  social  atmos- 
phere which  surrounds  him :  first  his  daily  companionship, 
the  thoughts  and  whims  of  his  class ;  then  his  recreations 
and  amusements ;  finally  the  surrounding  world  of  Ameri- 
can civilization,  which  the  Negro  meets  especially  in  his 
economic  life.  Let  us  take  up  here  the  subject  of  social 
classes  and  amusements  among  Negroes,  reserving  for  the 
next  chapter  a  study  of  the  contact  of  the  Whites  and 
Blacks. 

There  is  always  a  strong  tendency  on  the  part  of  the 
community  to  consider  the  Negroes  as  composing  one 
practically  homogeneous  mass.  This  view  has  of  course 
a  certain  justification:  the  people  of  Negro  descent  in 
this  land  have  had  a  common  history,  suffer  to-day  com- 
mon disabilities,  and  contribute  to  one  general  set  of 
social  problems.  And  yet  if  the  foregoing  statistics  have 
emphasized  any  one  fact  it  is  that  wide  variations  in 
antecedents,  wealth,  intelligence  and  general  eflSciency 
have  already  been  differentiated  within  this  group. 
These  differences  are  not,  to  be  sure,  so  great  or  so  patent 
as  those  among  the  whites  of  to-day,  and  yet  they  un- 


r 


510  The  Environment  of  the  Negro.    [Chap.  XV. 

doubtedly  equal  the  difference  among  the  masses  of  the 
people  in  certain  sections  of  the  land  fifty  or  one  hundred 
years  ago;  and  there  is  no  surer  way  of  misunderstanding  the 
Negro  or  being  misunderstood  by  him  than  by  ignoring 
■  manifest  differences  of  condition  and  power  in  the  40,000 
black  people  of  Philadelphia, 

And  yet  well-meaning  people  continually  do  this.  They 
regale  the  thugs  and  whoremongers  and  gamblers  of 
Seventh  and  Lombard  streets  with  congratulations  on  what 
the  Negroes  have  done  in  a  quarter  century,  and  pity  for 
their  disabilities  ;  and  they  scold  the  caterers  of  Addison 
street  for  the  pickpockets  and  paupers  of  the  race.  A 
judge  of  the  city  courts,  who  ^for  years  has  daily  met  a 
throng  of  lazy  and  debased  Negro  criminals,  comes  from 
the  bench  to  talk  to  the  Negroes  about  their  criminals :  he 
warns  them  first  of  all  to  leave  the  slums  and  either  forgets 
or  does  not  know  that  the  fathers  of  the  audience  he  is 
speaking  to,  left  the  slums  when  he  was  a  boy  and  that  the 
people  before  him  are  as  distinctly  differentiated  from  the 
criminals  he  has  met,  as  honest  laborers  anywhere  differ 
from  thieves. 

Nothing  more  exasperates  the  better  class  of  Negroes 
than  this  tendency  to  ignore  utterly  their  existence.  The 
law-abiding,  hard-working  inhabitants  of  the  Thirtieth 
Ward  are  aroused  to  righteous  indignation  when  they  see 
that  the  word  Negro  carries  most  Philadelphians'  minds  to 
the  alleys  of  the  Fifth  Ward  or  the  police  courts.  Since 
so  much  misunderstanding  or  rather  forgetfulness  and  care- 
lessness on  this  point  is  common,  let  us  endeavor  to  try  and 
fix  with  some  definiteness  the  different  social  classes  which 
are  clearly  enough  defined  among  Negroes  to  deserve 
attention.  When  the  statistics  of  the  families  of  the 
Seventh  Ward  were  gathered,  each  family  was  put  in  one 
of  four  grades  as  follows  : 

Grade  t.  Families  of  undoubted  respectability  earning 
sufficient   income   to   live  well ;    not   engaged   in   menial 


A 


Sect  46.]       Social  Classes  and  Amusements.  311 

service  of  any  kind  ;  the  wife  engaged  in  no  occupation 
save  that  of  house-wife,  except  in  a  few  cases  where  she 
had  special  employment  at  home.  The  children  not  com- 
pelled to  be  bread-winners,  but  found  in  school ;  the  family 
living  in  a  well-kept  home. 

Grade  2.  The  respectable  working-class  ;  in  comfortable 
circumstances,  with  a  good  home,  and  having  steady 
remunerative  work.     The  younger  children  in  school. 

Grade  3.  The  poor;  persons  not  earning  enough  to 
keep  them  at  all  times  above  want;  honest,  although  not 
always  energetic  or  thrifty,  and  with  no  touch  of  gross 
immorality  or  crime.  Including  the  very  poor,  and  the 
poor. 

Grade  4.  The  lowest  class  of  criminals,  prostitutes  and 
loafers  ;  the  "  submerged  tenth." 

Thus  we  have  in  these  four  grades  the  criminals,  the 
poor,  the  laborers,  and  the  well-to-do.  ^*  The  last  class 
represents  the  ordinary  middle-class  folk  of  most  modem 
countries,  and  contains  the  germs  of  other  social  classes 
which  the  Negro  has  not  yet  clearly  differentiated.  Let 
us  begin  first  with  the  fourth  class. 

The  criminals  and  gamblers  are  to  be  found  at  such 
centres  as  Seventh  and  Lombard  streets.  Seventeenth  and 
Lombard,  Twelfth  and  Kater,  Eighteenth  and  Naudain, 
etc  Many  people  have  failed  to  notice  the  significant 
change  which  has  come  over  these  slums  in  recent  years ; 
the  squalor  and  misery  and  dumb  suffering  of  1840  has 
passed,  and  in  its  place  have  come  more  baffling  and  sinister 
phenomena:  shrewd  laziness,  shameless  lewdness,  cunning 

^'  It  wUl  be  noted  that  this  classification  differs  materially  from  the 
economic  division  in  Chapter  XI.  In  that  case  grade  four  and  a  part  of 
three  appear  as  the  '^  poor ; "  grade  two  and  the  rest  of  g^de  three,  as 
the  "fair  to  comfortable ; "  and  a  few  of  grade  two  and  grade  one  as  the 
well-to-do.  The  basis  of  division  there  was  almost  entirely  according  to 
income;  this  division  brings  in  moral  considerations  and  questions  of 
expenditure,  and  consequently  reflects  more  largely  the  personal  judg- 
ment of  the  investigator. 


3X3      ""         The  Environment  of  the  Negro.    [Chap.  XV. 

crime.  The  loafers  who  line  the  curbs  in  these  places  are 
no  fools,  but  sharp,  wily  men  who  often  outwit  both  the 
Police  Department  and  the  Department  of  Charities.  Their 
nucleus  consists  of  a  class  of  professional  criminals,  who 
do  not  work,  figure  in  the  rogues'  galleries  of  a  half-dozen 
cities,  and  migrate  here  and  there.  About  these  are  a  set 
of  gamblers  and  sharpers  who  seldom  are  caught  in  serious 
crime,  but  who  nevertheless  live  from  its  proceeds  and  aid 
and  abet  it.  The  headquarters  of  all  these  are  usually  the 
political  clubs  and  pool-rooms;  they  stand  ready  to  entrap 
the  unwary  and  tempt  the  weak.  Their  organization,  tacit 
or  recognized,  is  very  effective,  and  no  one  can  long  watch 
their  actions  without  seeing  that  they  keep  in  close  touch 
with  the  authorities  in  some  way.  Affairs  will  be  gliding 
on  lazily  some  summer  afternoon  at  the  corner  of  Seventh 
and  Lombard  streets  ;  a  few  loafers  on  the  corners,  a  pros- 
titute here  and  there,  and  the  Jew  and  Italian  plying  their 
trades.  Suddenly  there  is  an  oath,  a  sharp  altercation,  a 
blow ;  then  a  hurried  rush  of  feet,  the  silent  door  of  a 
neighboring  club  closes,  and  when  the  policeman  arrives 
only  the  victim  lies  bleeding  on  the  sidewalk  ;  or  at  mid- 
night the  drowsy  quiet  will  be  suddenly  broken  by  the 
cries  and  quarreling  of  a  half-drunken  gambling  table  ; 
then  comes  the  sharp,  quick  crack  of  pistol  shots — a  scur- 
rying in  the  darkness,  and  only  the  wounded  man  lies 
awaiting  the  patrol-wagon.  If  the  matter  turns  out  seri- 
ously, the  police  know  where  in  Minster  street  and  Middle 
alley  to  look  for  the  aggressor ;  often  they  find  him,  but 
sometimes  not." 

The  size  of  the  more  desperate  class  of  criminals  and 
their  shrewd  abettors  is  of  course  comparatively  small,  but 
it  is  large  enough  to  characterize  the  slum  districts. 
Around  this  central  body  lies  a  large  crowd  of  satellites 


"  The  investigator  resided  at  the  College  SetUenient,  Seventh  and  Lom- 
bard streets,  some  montlis,  and  thus  had  an  opportunity  to  obaerve  this 
slum  carefully. 


Sect  46.]       Social  Classes  and  Amusements.  313 

and  feeders:  young  idlers  attracted  by  excitement,  shift- 
less and  lazy  ne'er-do-wells,  who  have  sunk  from  better 
things,  and  a  rough  crowd  of  pleasure  seekers  and  liber- 
tines. These  are  the  fellows  who  figure  in  the  police 
courts  for  larceny  and  fighting,  and  drift  thus  into  graver 
crime  or  shrewder  dissoluteness.  They  are  usually  far 
more  ignorant  than  their  leaders,  and  rapidly  die  out  from 
disease  and  excess.  Proper  measures  for  rescue  and  reform 
might  save  many  of  this  class.  Usually  they  are  not 
natives  of  the  city,  but  immigrants  who  have  wandered 
from  the  small  towns  of  the  South  to  Richmond  and 
Washington  and  thence  to  Philadelphia.  Their  environ- 
ment in  this  city  makes  it  easier  for  them  to  live  by  crime 
or  the  results  of  crime  than  by  work,  and  being  without 
ambition-— or  perhaps  having  lost  ambition  and  grown 
bitter  with  the  world — they  drift  with  the  stream. 

One  large  element  of  these  slums,  a  class  we  have  barely 
mentioned,  are  the  prostitutes.  It  is  difficult  to  get  at  any 
satisfactory  data  concerning  such  a  class,  but  an  attempt 
has  been  made.  There  were  in  1896  fifty-three  Negro 
women  in  the  Seventh  Ward  known  on  pretty  satisfactory 
evidence  to  be  supported  wholly  or  largely  by  the  proceeds 
of  prostitution ;  and  it  is  probable  that  this  is  not  half  the 
real  number  ;^*  these  fifty-three  were  of  the  following  ages  : 

14  to  19 2 

20  to  24 II 

25  to  29 9 

30  to  39 17 

40  to  49 3 

50  and  over 2 

Unknown 9 

Total 53 

Seven  of  these  women  had  small  children  with  them  and 
had  probably  been  betrayed,  and  had  then  turned  to  this 

^  These  figures  were  taken  daring  the  inquiry  by  the  visitor  to  the 
lionses. 


r 


314  The  Environment  of  the  Negro.    [Chap.  XV. 

sort  of  life.  There  were  fourteen  recognized  bawdy 
houses  in  the  ward ;  ten  of  them  were  private  dwellings 
where  prostitutes  lived  and  were  not  especially  fitted  up, 
although  male  visitors  frequented  them.  Four  of  the 
houses  were  regularly  fitted  up,  with  elaborate  furniture, 
and  in  one  or  two  cases  had  young  and  beautiful  girls  on 
exhibition.  All  of  these  latter  were  seven  or  eight  room 
houses  for  which  $26  to  $30  a  month  was  paid.  They  are 
pretty  well-known  resorts,  but  are  not  disturbed.  In  the 
slums  the  lowest  class  of  street  walkers  abound  and  ply 
their  trade  among  Negroes,  Italians  and  Americans.  One 
can  see  men  following  them  into  alleys  in  broad  daylight. 
They  usually  have  male  associates  whom  they  support 
and  who  join  them  in  "  badger  "  thieving.  Most  of  them 
are  grown  women  though  a  few  cases  of  girls  under  sixteen 
have  been  seen  on  the  street. 

This  fairly  characterizes  the  lowest  class  of  Negroes. 
According  to  the  inquirj'  in  the  Seventh  Ward  at  least 
138  families  were  estimated  as  belonging  to  this  class  out 
of  2395  reported,  or  5.8  per  cent.  This  would  include 
between  five  and  six  hundred  individuals.  Perhaps  this 
number  reaches  1000  if  the  facts  were  known,  but  the 
evidence  at  hand  furnishes  only  the  number  stated.  In  the 
whole  city  the  number  may  reach  3000,  although  there  is 
little  data  for  an  estimate." 

The  next  class  are  the  poor  and  unfortunate  and  the 
casual  laborers ;  most  of  these  are  of  the  class  of  Negroes 
who  in  the  contact  with  the  life  of  a  great  city  have 
failed  to  find  an  assured  place.  They  include  immi- 
grants who  cannot  get  steady  work  ;  good  natured,  but 
unreliable  and  shiftless  persons  who  cannot  keep  work  or 
spend  their  earnings  thoughtfully  ;  those  who  have  suffered 
accident  and  misfortune ;  the  maimed  and  defective  classes, 

>'  This  includes  not  simply  the  actual  criminal  class,  but  its  aiders  and 
abettors,  and  the  class  indmatel;  associated  with  it.  It  would,  for 
instance,  include  much  more  than  Charles  Booth's  class  A  in  London. 


Sect.  46.]       Social  Classes  and  Amusetnents.  315 

and  the  sick ;  many  widows  and  orphans  and  deserted 
wives ;  all  these  form  a  large  class  and  are  here  considered. 
It  is  of  course  very  difficult  to  separate  the  lowest  of  this 
class  from  the  one  below,  and  probably  many  are  included 
here  who,  if  the  truth  were  known,  ought  to  be  classed 
lower.  In  most  cases,  however,  they  have  been  given  the 
benefit  of  the  doubt  The  lowest  ones  of  this  class  usually 
live  in  the  slums  and  back  streets,  and  next  door,  or  in 
the  same  house  often,  with  criminals  and  lewd  women. 
Ignorant  and  easily  influenced,  they  readily  go  with  the 
tide  and  now  rise  to  industry  and  decency,  now  fall  to 
crime.  Others  of  this  class  get  on  fairly  well  in  good 
times,  but  never  get  far  ahead.  They  are  the  ones  who 
earliest  feel  the  weight  of  hard  times  and  their  latest 
blight  Some  correspond  to  the  "  worthy  poor  "  of  most 
charitable  organizations,  and  some  fall  a  little  below  that 
class.  The  children  of  this  class  are  the  feeders  of  the 
criminal  classes.  Often  in  the  same  family  one  can  find 
respectable  and  striving  parents  weighed  down  by  idle, 
impudent  sons  and  wayward  daughters.  This  is  partly 
because  of  poverty,  more  because  of  the  poor  home  life.  In 
the  Seventh  Ward  30^  per  cent  of  the  families  or  728 
may  be  put  into  this  class,  including  the  very  poor,  the 
poor  and  those  who  manage  just  to  make  ends  meet  in 
good  times.  In  the  whole  city  perhaps  ten  to  twelve 
thousand  Negroes  fall  in  this  third  social  grade. 

Above  these  come  the  representative  Negroes ;  the  mass 
of  the  servant  class,  the  porters  and  waiters,  and  the  best 
of  the  laborers.  They  are  hard-working  people,  proverb- 
ially good-natured ;  lacking  a  little  in  foresight  and  fore- 
handedness,  and  in  "  push."  They  are  honest  and  faithful, 
of  fair  and  improving  morals,  and  beginning  to  accumulate 
property.  The  great  drawback  to  this  class  is  lack  of 
congenial  occupation  especially  among  the  young  men  and 
women,  and  the  consequent  wide-spread  dissatisfaction  and 
complaint.     As  a  class  these  persons  are  ambitious ;  the 


Jl6  The  Environment  of  the  Negro,    [Chap.  XV. 

majority  can  read  and  write,  many  have  a  common  school 
training,  and  all  are  anxious  to  rise  in  the  world.  Their 
wages  are  low  compared  with  corresponding  classes  of 
white  workmen,  tlieir  rents  are  high,  and  the  field  of 
advancement  opened  to  them  is  very  limited.  The  best 
expression  of  the  life  of  this  group  is  the  Negro  church, 
where  their  social  life  centres,  and  where  they  discuss 
their  situation  and  prospects, 

A  note  of  disappointment  and  discouragement  is  often 
heard  at  these  discussions  and  their  work  suffers  from  a 
growing  lack  of  interest  in  it.  Most  of  them  are  probably 
best  fitted  for  the  work  they  are  doing,  but  a  large 
percentage  deserve  better  ways  to  display  their  talent,  and 
better  remuneration.  The  whole  class  deserves  credit  for 
its  bold  advance  in  the  midst  of  discouragements,  and  for 
the  distinct  moral  improvement  in  their  family  life  during 
the  last  quarter  century.  These  persons  form  56  per  cent 
or  1,253  of  the  families  of  the  Seventh  Ward,  and  include 
perhaps  25,000  of  the  Negroes  of  the  city.  They  live  in 
5-10  room  houses,  and  usually  have  lodgers.  The  bouses 
are  always  well  furnished  with  neat  parlors  and  some 
musical  instrument,  Sunday  dinners  and  small  parties, 
together  with  church  activities,  make  up  their  social  inter- 
course. Their  chief  trouble  is  in  finding  suitable  careers 
for  their  growing  children. 

Finally  we  come  to  the  277  families,  11.5  per  cent  of 
those  of  the  Seventh  Ward,  and  including  perhaps  3,000 
Negroes  in  the  city,  who  form  the  aristocracy  of  the  Negro 
population  in  education,  wealth  and  general  social  effi- 
ciency. In  many  respects  it  is  right  and  proper  to  judge  a 
people  by  its  best  classes  rather  than  by  its  worst  classes  or 
middle  ranks.  The  highest  class  of  any  group  represents 
its  possibilities  rather  than  its  exceptions,  as  is  so  often 
assumed  in  regard  to  the  Negro.  The  colored  people  are 
seldom  judged  by  their  best  classes,  and  often  the  very 
existence  of  classes  among  them    is    ignored.     This  is 


Sect  46.]       Social  Classes  and  Amusements.  317- 

partly  due  in  the  North  to  the  anomalous  position  of  those 
who  compose  this  class ;  they  are  not  the  leaders  or  the 
ideal-makers  of  their  own  group  in  thought,  work,  or 
morals.  They  teach  the  masses  to  a  very  small  extent, 
mingle  with  them  but  little,  do  not  largely  hire  their 
labor.  Instead  then  of  social  classes  held  together  by 
strong  ties  of  mutual  interest  we  have  in  the  case  of  the 
Negroes,  classes  who  have  much  to  keep  them  apart,  and 
only  community  of  blood  and  color  prejudice  to  bind  them 
together.  If  the  Negroes  were  by  themselves  either  a 
strong  aristocratic  system  or  a  dictatorship  would  for  the 
present  prevail.  With,  however,  democracy  thus  prema- 
turely thrust  upon  them,  the  first  impulse  of  the  best,  the 
wisest  and  richest  is  to  segregate  themselves  from  the  mass. 
This  action,  however,  causes  more  of  dislike  and  jealousy 
on  the  part  of  the  masses  than  usual,  because  those  masses 
look  to  the  whites  for  ideals  and  largely  for  leadership.  It 
is  natural  therefore  that  even  to-day  the  mass  of  Negroes 
should  look  upon  the  worshipers  at  St.  Thomas'  and 
Central  as  feeling  themselves  above  them,  and  should  dis- 
like them  for  it.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  just  as  natural 
for  the  well-educated  and  well-to-do  Negroes  to  feel  them- 
selves far  above  the  criminals  and  prostitutes  of  Seventh 
and  Ivombard  streets,  and  even  above  the  servant  girls  and 
porters  of  the  middle  class  of  workers.  So  far  they  are 
justified  ;  but  they  make  their  mistake  in  failing  to  recog- 
nize that  however  laudable  an  ambition  to  rise  may  be,  the 
first  duty  of  an  upper  class  is  to  serve  the  lowest  classes^ 
The  aristocracies  of  all  peoples  have  been  slow  in  learning 
this  and  perhaps  the  Negro  is  no  slower  than  the  rest,  but 
his  peculiar  situation  demands  that  in  his  case  this  lesson  be 
learned  sooner.  Naturally  the  uncertain  economic  status 
even  of  this  picked  class  makes  it  difficult  for  them  to 
spare  much  time  and  energy  in  social  reform  ;  compared 
with  their  fellows  they  are  rich,  but  compared  with  white 


r 


318  The  Environment  of  the  Negro.     [Chap.  XV. 

Americans  they  are  poor,  and  they  can  hardly  fulfill  their 
duty  as  the  leaders  of  the  Negroes  until  they  are  captains 
of  industry  over  their  people  as  well  as  richer  and  wiser. 
To-day  the  professional  class  among  them  is,  compared 
with  other  callings,  rather  over-represented,  and  all  have  a 
struggle  to  maintain  the  position  they  have  won. 

This  class  is  itself  an  answer  to  the  question  of  the 
ability  of  the  Negro  to  assimilate  American  culture.  It  is 
a  class  small  in  numbers  and  not  sharply  differeutiated 
from  other  classes,  although  sufficiently  so  to  be  easily 
recognized.  Its  members  are  not  to  be  met  with  in  the 
ordinary  assemblages  of  the  Negroes,  nor  in  their  usual 
promenading  places.  They  are  largely  Philadelphia  bom, 
and  being  descended  from  the  house-servant  class,  contain 
many  mulattoes.  In  their  assemblies  there  are  evidences 
of  good  breeding  and  taste,  so  that  a  foreigner  would 
hardly  think  of  ex-slaves.  They  are  not  to  be  sure  people 
of  wide  culture  and  their  mental  horizon  is  as  limited  as 
that  of  the  first  families  in  a  country  town.  Here  and 
there  may  be  noted,  too,  some  faint  trace  of  careless  moral 
training.  On  the  whole  they  strike  one  as  sensible, 
good  folks.  Their  conversation  turns  on  the  gossip  of 
similar  circles  among  the  Negroes  of  Washington,  Bos- 
ton and  New  York  ;  on  questions  of  the  day,  and,  less 
willingly,  on  the  situation  of  the  Negro.  Strangers 
secure  entrance  to  this  circle  with  difficulty  and  only  by 
introduction.  For  an  ordinary  white  person  it  would 
be  almost  impossible  to  secure  introduction  even  by  a 
friend.  Once  in  a  while  some  well-known  citizen  meets  a 
company  of  this  class,  but  it  is  hard  for  the  average  white 
American  to  lay  aside  his  patronizing  way  toward  a  Negro, 
and  to  talk  of  aught  to  him  but  the  Negro  question  ;  the 
lack,  therefore,  of  common  ground  even  for  conversation 
makes  such  meetings  rather  stiff  and  not  often  repeated. 
Fifty-two  of  these  families  keep  servants  regularly;  they 


Sect  46.]       Social  Classes  and  Amusements. 


319 


live  in  well-appointed  homes,  which  give  evidence  of  taste 
and  even  luxury." 

Something  must  be  said,  before  leaving  this  subject,  of 
the  amusements  of  the  Negroes.  Among  the  fourth  grade 
and  the  third,  gambling,  excursions,  balls  and  cake-walks 
are  the  chief  amusements.  The  gambling  instinct  is  wide- 
spread, as  in  all  low  classes,  and,  together  with  sexual 
looseness,  is  their  greatest  vice ;  it  is  carried  on  in  clubs, 
in  private  houses,  in  pool-rooms  and  on  the  street  Public 
gambling  can  be  found  at  a  dozen  diflferent  places  every 
night  at  full  tilt  in  the  Seventh  Ward,  and  almost  any 
stranger  can  gain  easy  access.  Games  of  pure  chance  are 
preferred  to  those  of  skill,  and  in  the  larger  clubs  a  sort  of 
three-card  monte  is  the  favorite  game,  played  with  a  dealer 
who  gambles  against  all  comers.  In  private  houses  in  the 
slums,  cards,  beer  and  prostitutes  can  always  be  found.  In 
the  public  pool-rooms  there  is  some  quiet  gambling  and 
playing  for  prizes.  For  the  new  comer  to  the  city  the 
only  open  places  of  amusement  are  these  pool-rooms  and 
gambling  clubs  ;  here  are  crowds  of  young  fellows,  and 


^  A  comparison  of  the  size  of  families  in  the  highest  and  lowest  class 
may  be  of  interest: 


Number  in  Family. 


One 

Two 

Three  .   .    .       . 
Four    ... 

Five 

Six 

Seven  

Eight  ..... 

Nine 

Ten 

Eleven    .... 
Twelve  or  more 


Total. 


First  Grade. 


22  —     8% 

66  —  24^ 
54  —  19% 


48) 
18  J 

j- 


20 

7 
5 


12^ 


277 


Fourth  Grade. 


17  — 
58- 
27  — 
21 

6 
6 


12% 
20% 


1- 


0% 


138 


Average  size  of  family,  first  grade,  4.07% ;  fourth  grade,  2.08^. 
This  certainly  looks  like  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  and  is  hardly  an 
argument  for  the  extinction  of  the  civilized  Negro. 


320  The  Environment  of  Ihe  Negro.    [Chap.  XV. 

once  started  in  this  company  no  one  can  say  where  they 
may  not  end. 

The  most  innocent  amusements  of  this  class  are  the  balls 
and  cake-walks,  although  they  are  accompanied  by  much 
drinking,  and  are  attended  by  white  and  black  prostitutes. 
The  cake-walk  is  a  rhythmic  promenade  or  slow  dance,  and 
when  well  done  is  pretty  and  quite  innocent.  Excursions 
are  frequent  in  summer,  and  are  accompanied  often  by  much 
fighting  and  drinking. 

The  mass  of  the  laboring  Negroes  get  their  amusement  in 
connection  with  the  churches.  There  are  suppers,  fairs, 
concerts,  socials  and  the  like.  Dancing  is  forbidden  by 
most  of  the  churches,  and  many  of  the  stricter  sort  would 
not  think  of  going  to  balls  or  theatres.  The  younger  set, 
however,  dance,  although  the  parents  seldom  accompany 
them,  and  the  hours  kept  are  late,  making  it  often  a  dissi- 
pation. Secret  societies  and  social  clubs  add  to  these 
amusements  by  balls  and  suppers,  and  there  are  numbers 
of  parties  at  private  houses.  This  class  also  patronizes  fre- 
quent excursions  given  by  churches  and  Sunday-schools 
and  secret  societies  ;  they  are  usually  well  conducted,  but 
cost  a  great  deal  more  than  is  necessary.  The  money 
wasted  in  excursions  above  what  would  be  necessary  for  a 
day's  outing  and  plenty  of  recreation,  would  foot  up  many 
thousand  dollars  in  a  season. 

In  the  upper  class  alone  has  the  home  begun  to  be 
the  centre  of  recreation  and  amusement.  There  are  always 
to  be  found  parties  and  small  receptions,  and  gatherings  at 
the  invitations  of  musical  or  social  clubs.  One  large  ball 
each  year  is  usually  given,  which  is  strictly  private.  Guests 
from  out  of  town  are  given  much  social  attention. 

Among  nearly  all  classes  of  Negroes  there  is  a  large  un- 
satisfied demand  for  amusement.  Large  numbers  of  servant 
girls  and  young  men  have  flocked  to  the  city,  have  no  homes, 
and  want  places  to  frequent  The  churches  supply  this  need 
partially,  but  the  institution   which  will  supply  this  want 


Sect  46.]       Social  Classes  and  Amusements.  321 

better  and  add  instruction  and  diversion,  will  save  many 
girls  from  ruin  and  boys  from  crime.  There  is  to-day  little 
done  in  places  of  public  amusement  to  protect  colored 
girls  from  designing  men.  Many  of  the  idlers  and  rascals 
of  the  slums  play  on  the  aflfections  of  silly  servant  girls, 
and  either  ruin  them  or  lead  them  into  crime,  or  more 
often  live  on  a  part  of  their  wages.  There  are  many  cases 
of  this  latter  system  to  be  met  in  the  Seventh  Ward. 

It  is  difficult  to  measure  amusements  in  any  enlightening 
way.  A  count  of  the  amusements  reported  by  the  Tribune^ 
the  chief  colored  paper,  which  reports  for  a  select  part  of 
the  laboring  class,  and  the  upper  class,  resulted  as  follows 
for  nine  weeks:^' 

Parties  at  homes  in  honor  of  visitors 16 

*•        **  homes \i 

'*        **        "      with  dancing 10 

Balls  in  halls 10 

Concerts  in  churches 7 

Church  suppers,  etc 7 

Weddings 7 

Birthday  parties 7 

Lectures  and  literary  entertainments  at  churches  ...  6 

Card  parties 4 

Pairs  at  churches 3 

Lawn  parties  and  picnics 3 

These,  of  course,  are  the  larger  parties  in  the  whole  city, 
and  do  not  include  the  numerous  small  church  socials  and 
gatherings.  The  proportions  here  are  largely  accidental, 
but  the  list  is  instructive. 


'*  These  weeks  were  not  consecutive  but  taken  at  random. 


21 


r 


LIBRmOFTHE 

l.ti^HD  SlA.^rORD  JR.  Ufi/fi/ERSfTY. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE   CONTACT  OF   THE   RACES. 

47.  Color  Prejudice. — Incidentally  throughout  this 
study  the  prejudice  against  the  Negro  has  been  again  and 
again  mentiooed.  It  is  time  now  to  reduce  this  somewhat 
indefinite  term  to  something  tangible.  Ever>'body  speaks 
of  the  matter,  everybody  knows  that  it  exists,  but  in  just 
what  form  it  shows  itself  or  how  influential  it  is  few  agree. 
In  the  Negro's  mind,  color  prejudice  in  Philadelphia  is 
that  widespread  feeling  of  dislike  for  his  blood,  which  keeps 
him  and  his  children  out  of  decent  employment,  from  cer- 
tain public  conveniences  and  amusements,  from  hiring 
houses  in  many  sections,  and  in  general,  from  being  recog- 
nized as  a  man.  Negroes  regard  this  prejudice  as  the  chief 
cause  of  their  present  unfortunate  condition.  On  the  other 
hand  most  white  people  are  quite  unconscious  of  any  such 
powerful  and  vindictive  feeling;  they  regard  color  preju- 
dice as  the  easily  explicable  feeling  that  intimate  social 
intercourse  with  a  lower  race  is  not  only  undesirable  but 
impracticable  if  our  present  standards  of  culture  are  to 
be  maintained  ;  and  although  they  are  aware  that  some 
people  feel  the  aversion  more  intensely  than  others,  they 
cannot  see  how  such  a  feeling  has  much  influence  on  the 
real  situation,  or  alters  the  social  condition  of  the  mass  of 
Negroes. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  color  prejudice  in  this  city  is 
something  between  these  two  extreme  views :  it  is  not 
to-day  responsible  for  all,  or  perhaps  the  greater  part  of 
the  Negro  problems,  or  of  the  disabilities  uuder  which  the 
race  labors  ;  on  the  other  hand  it  is  a  far  more  powerful 
social  force  than  most  Philadelphians  realize. 
(3") 


^ 


Sect  47']  Color  Prgudice.  333 

tical  results  of  the  attitude  of  most  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Philadelphia  toward  persons  of    Negro  descent  are  as 
follows : 
V      I.  As  to  getting  work : 

'  No  matter  how  well  trained  a  Negro  may  be,  or  how 
fitted  for  work  of  any  kind,  he  cannot  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  competition  hope  to  be  much  more  than  a  menial 
servant 

He  cannot  get  clerical  or  supervisory  work  to  do  save  in 
exceptional  cases. 

He  cannot  teach  save  in  a  few  of  the  remaining  Negro 
schools. 

He  cannot  become  a  mechanic  except  for  small  transient 
jobs,  and  cannot  join  a  trades  union. 

A  Negro  woman  has  but  three  careers  open  to  her  in 
this  city :  domestic  service,  sewing,  or  married  life. 

2.  As  to  keeping  work  : 

The  Negro  suflFers  in  competition  more  severely  than 
white  men. 

Change  in  fashion  is  causing  him  to  be  replaced  by  whites 
in  the  better  paid  positions  of  domestic  service. 

Whim  and  accident  will  cause  him  to  lose  a  hard-earned 
place  more  quickly  than  the  same  things  would  aflfect  a 
white  man. 

Being  few  in  number  compared  with  the  whites  the 
crime  or  carelessness  of  a  few  of  his  race  is  easily  imputed 
to  all,  and  the  reputation  of  the  good,  industrious  and 
reliable  suffer  thereby. 

Because  Negro  workmen  may  not  often  work  side  by 
side  with  white  workmen,  the  individual  black  workman 
is  rated  not  by  his  own  efficiency,  but  by  the  efficiency  of 
a  whole  group  of  black  fellow  workmen  which  may  often 
be  low. 

Because  of  these  difficulties  which  virtually  increase 
competition  in  his  case,  he  is  forced  to  take  lower  wages 
\     for  the  same  work  than  white  workmen. 


334  The  Contact  of  the  Races.        [Chap.  XVI. 

3.  As  to  entering  new  lines  of  work  : 

Men  are  used  to  seeing  Negroes  in  inferior  positions ; 
when,  therefore,  by  any  chance  a  Negro  gets  in  a  better 
position,  most  men  immediately  conclude  that  he  is  not 
fitted  for  it,  even  before  he  has  a  chance  to  show  his  fitness. 

If,  therefore,  he  set  up  a  store,  men  will  not  patronize 
him. 

If  he  is  put  into  public  position  men  will  complain. 

If  he  gain  a  position  in  the  commercial  world,  men  will 
quietly  secure  his  dismissal  or  see  that  a  white  man  suc- 
ceeds him. 

4.  As  to  his  expenditure  : 

The  comparative  smallness  of  the  patronage  of  the 
Negro,  and  the  dislike  of  other  customers  makes  it  usual 
to  increase  the  charges  or  difficulties  in  certain  directions 
in  which  a  Negro  must  spend  money. 

He  must  pay  more  house-rent  for  worse  houses  than 
most  white  people  pay. 

He  is  sometimes  liable  to  insult  or  reluctant  service  in 
some  restaurants,  hotels  and  stores,  at  public  resorts, 
theatres  and  places  of  recreation  ;  and  at  nearly  all  barber- 
shops. 

5.  As  to  his  children  : 

The  Negro^finds  it  extremely  difficult  to  rear  children  in 
such  an  atmosphere  and  not  have  them  either  cringing  or 
impudent :  if  he  impresses  upon  them  patience  with  their 
lot,  they  may  grow  up  satisfied  with  their  condition ;  if  he 
inspires  them  with  ambition  to  rise,  they  may  grow  to 
despise  their  own  people,  hate  the  whites  and  become 
embittered  with  the  world. 

His  children  are  discriminated  against,  often  in  public 
schools. 

They  are  advised  when  seeking  employment  to  become 
waiters  and  maids. 

They  are  liable  to  species  of  insult  and  temptation 
peculiarly  trying  to  children. 


D 


Sect  47.]  Color  Prejudice.  335 

6.  As  to  social  intercourse : 

In  all  walks  of  life  the  Negro  is  liable  to  meet  some 
objection  to  his  presence  or  some  discourteous  treatment ; 
and  the  ties  of  friendship  or  memory  seldom  are  strong 
enough  to  hold  across  the  color  line. 

If  an  invitation  is  issued  to  the  public  [for  any  occasion, 
the  Negro  can  never  know  whether  he  would  be  welcomed 
or  not ;  if  he  goes  he  is  liable  to  have  his  feelings  hurt  and 
get  into  unpleasant  altercation ;  if  he  stays  away,  he  is 
blamed  for  indiflference. 

If  he  meet  a  lifelong  white  friend  on  the  street,  he  is  in 
a  dilemma  ;  if  he  does  not  greet  the  friend  he  is  put  down 
as  boorish  and  impolite  ;  if  he  does  greet  the  friend  he  is 
liable  to  be  flatly  snubbed. 

If  by  chance  he  is  introduced  to  a  white  woman  or  man, 
he  expects  to  be  ignored  on  the  next  meeting,  and  usually  is. 

White  friends  may  call  on  him,  but  he  is  scarcely 
expected  to  call  on  them,  save  for  strictly  business  matters. 

If  he  gain  the  affections  of  a  white  woman  and  marry 
her  he  may  invariably  expect  that  slurs  will  be  thrown  on 
her  reputation  and  on  his,  and  that  both  his  and  her  race 
will  shun  their  company.^ 

When  he  dies  he  cannot  be  buried  beside  white  corpses. 

7.  The  result: 

Any  one  of  these  things  happening  now  and  then  would 
not  be  remarkable  or  call  for  especial  comment ;  but  when 
one  group  of  people  suffer  all  these  little  differences  of 
treatment  and  discriminations  and  insults  continually,  the 
result  is  either  discouragement,  or  bitterness,  or  over-sensi- 
tiveness, or  recklessness.    And  a  people  feeling  thus  cannot 

do  their  best. 

Prestmiably  the  first  impulse  of  the  average  Philadelphian 

would  be  emphatically  to  deny  any  such  marked  and 

blighting  discrimination  as  the  above  against  a  group  of 

citizens  in  this  metropolis.     Every  one  knows  that  in  the 

^  Cf.  Section  49. 


r 


326  The  Contact  of  the  Races.      [Chap.  XVI. 

past  color  prejudice  in  the  city  was  deep  and  passionate; 
living  men  can  remember  when  a  Negro  could  not  sit  in  a 
street  car  or  walk  many  streets  in  peace.  These  times 
have  passed,  however,  and  many  imagine  that  active 
discrimination  against  the  Negro  has  passed  with  them. 
Careful  inquiry  will  convince  any  such  one  of  his  error. 
To  be  sure  a  colored  man  to-day  can  walk  the  streets  of 
Philadelphia  without  personal  insult ;  he  can  go  to 
theatres,  parks  and  some  places  of  amusement  without 
meeting  more  than  stares  and  discourtesy  ;  he  can  be 
accommodated  at  most  hotels  and  restaurants,  although  his 
treatment  in  some  would  not  be  pleasant.  All  this  is  a 
vast  advance  and  augurs  much  for  the  future.  And  yet  all 
that  has  been  said  of  the  remaining  discrimination  is  but 
too  true. 

During  the  investigation  of  1896  there  was  collected  a 
number  of  actual  cases,  which  may  illustrate  the  discrimi- 
nations spoken  of.  So  far  as  possible  these  have  been 
sifted  and  only  those  which  seem  undoubtedly  true  have 
been  selected.* 

I.  As  to  getting  work. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  dwell  upon  the  situation  of  the 
Negro  in  regard  to  work  in  the  higher  walks  of  life  :  the 
white  boy  may  start  in  the  lawyer's  office  and  work 
himself  into  a  lucrative  practice ;  he  may  serve  a 
physician  as  office  boy  or  enter  a  hospital  in  a  minor 
position,    and   have   his    talent   alone   between   him    and 


'  One  of  the  questions  on  the  Bchedule  was:  "Have  yoa  had  any 
difficulty  in  getting  worlc  ? "  another  r  "  Have  you  bad  any  difficulty  in 
renting  houses?"  Most  of  the  answers  were  vague  or  general.  Those 
that  were  definite  and  apparently  reliable  were,  bo  far  as  possible, 
inquired  into  further,  compared  with  otber  tcatimoay  and  then  used  as 
maierial  for  work iag  out  a  list  of  discriminations;  single  and  isolated 
cases  without  corroboration  were  never  taken,  I  believe  those  here 
presented  are  reliable,  althongh  naturally  I  may  have  been  deceived  in 
some  stories.  Of  the  general  truth  of  the  statement  I  am  thoroughly 
convinced. 


Sect.  47']  Color  Prejudice.  327 

affluence  and  fame ;  if  he  is  bright  in  school,  he  may 
make  his  mark  in  a  university,  become  a  tutor  with  some 
time  and  much  inspiration  for  study,  and  eventually  fill 
a  professor's  chair.  All  these  careers  are  at  the  very 
outset  closed  to  the  Negro  on  account  of  his  color ;  what 
lawyer  would  give  even  a  minor  case  to  a  Negro  assistant? 
or  what  university  would  appoint  a  promising  young 
Negro  as  tutor  ?  Thus  the  young  white  man  starts  in  life 
knowing  that  within  some  limits  and  barring  accidents, 
talent  and  application  will  tell.  The  young  Negro  starts 
knowing  that  on  all  sides  his  advance  is  made  doubly 
difficult  if  not  wholly  shut  off,  by  his  color.  Let  us  come, 
however,  to  ordinary  occupations  which  concern  more 
nearly  the  mass  of  Negroes.  Philadelphia  is  a  great  indus- 
trial and  business  centre,  with  thousands  of  foremen, 
managers  and  clerks — the  lieutenants  of  industry,  who 
direct  its  progress.  They  are  paid  for  thinking  and  for 
skill  to  direct,  and  naturally  such  positions  are  coveted 
because  they  are  well  paid,  well  thought-of  and  carry  some 
authority.  To  such  positions  Negro  boys  and  girls  may 
not  aspire  no  matter  what  their  qualifications.  Even  as 
teachers  and  ordinary  clerks  and  stenographers  they  find 
almost  no  openings.     Let  us  note  some  actual  instances : 

A  young  woman  who  graduated  with  credit  from  the 
Girls'  Normal  School  in  1892,  has  taught  in  the  kinder- 
garten, acted  as  substitute,  and  waited  in  vain  for  a  per- 
manent position.  Once  she  was  allowed  to  substitute  in  a 
school  with  white  teachers  ;  the  principal  commended  her 
work,  but  when  the  permanent  appointment  was  made  a 
white  woman  got  it. 

A  girl  who  graduated  from  a  Pennsylvania  high  school 
and  from  a  business  college  sought  work  in  the  city  as  a 
stenographer  and  typewriter.  A  prominent  lawyer  under- 
took to  find  her  a  position  ;  he  went  to  friends  and  said, 
"  Here  is  a  girl  that  does  excellent  work  and  is  of  good 
character ;  can  you  not  give  her  work  ?  "     Several  imme- 


328  The  Contact  of  the  Races.       [Chap.  XVI. 

diately  answered  yes.  "But,"  said  the  lawyer,  "I will  be 
perfectly  frank  with  yon  and  tell  you  she  is  colored  ;"  and 
not  in  the  whole  city  could  he  find  a  man  willing  to 
employ  her.  It  happened,  however,  that  the  girl  was  so 
light  in  complexion  that  few  not  knowing  would  have 
suspected  her  descent.  The  lawyer  therefore  gave  her 
temporary  work  in  his  own  office  until  she  found  a  position 
outside  the  city.  "  But,"  said  he,  "  to  this  day  I  have  not 
dared  to  tell  my  clerks  that  they  worked  beside  a  Negress." 
Another  woman  graduated  from  the  high  school  and  the 
Palmer  College  of  Shorthand,  but  all  over  the  city  has  met 
with  nothing  but  refusal  of  work. 

Several  graduates  in  phannacy  have  sought  to  get  their 
three  years  required  apprenticeship  in  the  city  and  in  only 
one  case  did  one  succeed,  although  they  offered  to  work  for 
nothing.  One  young  pharmacist  came  from  Massachusetts 
and  for  weeks  sought  in  vain  for  work  here  at  any  price; 
"  I  wouldn't  have  a  darky  to  clean  out  my  store,  much 
less  to  stand  behind  the  counter,"  answered  one  druggist 
A  colored  man  answered  an  advertisement  for  a  clerk  in 
the  suburbs.  "  What  do  you  suppose  we'd  want  of  a 
nigger?"  was  the  plain  answer,  A  graduate  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  in  mechanical  engineering, 
well  recommended,  obtained  work  in  the  city,  through  an 
advertisement,  on  account  of  his  excellent  record.  He 
worked  a  few  hours  and  then  was  discharged  because  he 
was  found  to  be  colored.  He  is  now  a  waiter  at  the 
University  Club,  where  his  white  fellow  graduates  dine,' 
Another  young  man  attended  Spring  Garden  Institute  and 
studied  drawing  for  lithography.  He  had  good  references 
from  the  institute  and  elsewhere,  but  application  at  the 
five  largest  establishments  in  the  city  could  secure  him  no 
work.  A  telegraph  operator  has  hunted  in  vain  for  an 
opening,  and  two  graduates  of  the  Central  High  School 

'And  is,  of  course,  pointed  out  bj  some  as  typifjing  the  ednceted 
Negro's  success  in  life. 


Sect  47-]  Color  Prejudice.  329 

have  sunk  to  menial  labor.  "  What's  the  use  of  an  educa- 
tion ?  "  asked  one,    Mr.  A has  elsewhere  been  employed 

as  a  traveling  salesman.  He  applied  for  a  position  here  by 
letter  and  was  told  he  could  have  one.  When  they  saw 
him  they  had  no  work  for  him. 

Such  cases  could  be  multiplied  indefinitely.  But  that  is 
not  necessary ;  one  has  but  to  note  that  notwithstanding 
the  acknowledged  ability  of  many  colored  men,  the  Negro 
is  conspicuously  absent  from  all  places  of  honor,  trust  or 
emolument,  as  well  as  from  those  of  respectable  grade  in 
commerce  and  industry. 

Even  in  the  world  of  skilled  labor  the  Negro  is  largely 
excluded.  Many  would  explain  the  absence  of  Negroes 
from  higher  vocations  by  saying  that  while  a  few  may  now 
and  then  be  found  competent,  the  great  mass  are  not  fitted 
for  that  sort  of  work  and  are  destined  for  some  time  to 
form  a  laboring  class.  In  the  matter  of  the  trades,  how- 
ever, there  can  be  raised  no  serious  question  of  ability ; 
for  years  the  Negroes  filled  satisfactorily  the  trades  of  the 
city,  and  to4ay  in  many  parts  of  the  South  they  are  still 
prominent  And  yet  in  Philadelphia  a  determined  preju- 
dice, aided  by  public  opinion,  has  succeeded  nearly  in 
driving  them  from  the  field: 

A ,  who  works  at  a  bookbinding  establishment  on 

Front  street,  has  learned  to  bind  books  and  often  does  so 
for  his  friends.  He  is  not  allowed  to  work  at  the  trade  in 
the  shop,  however,  but  must  remain  a  porter  at  a  porter's 
wages. 

B is  a  brushmaker  ;  he  has  applied  at  several  estab- 
lishments, but  they  would  not  even  examine  his  testi- 
monials. They  simply  said :  "  We  do  not  employ  colored 
people." 

C is  a  shoemaker ;  he  tried  to  get  work  in  some  of 

the  large  department  stores.     They  "  had  no  place"  for  him. 

D was  a  bricklayer,  but  experienced  so  much  trouble 

in  getting  work  that  he  is  now  a  messenger. 


r 


330  The  Cojttact  of  the  Races.       [Chap.  XVI. 

E is  a  painter,  but  has  found  it  impossible  to  get 

work  because  he  is  colored. 

F is  a  telegraph  line  man,  who  formerly  worked  in 

Richmond,  Va.  When  he  applied  here  he  was  told  that 
Negroes  were  not  employed. 

G is  an  iron  puddler,  who  belonged  to  a  Pittsburg 

union.  Here  he  was  not  recognized  as  a  union  man  and 
could  not  get  work  except  as  a  stevedore. 

H was  a  cooper,  but  could  get  no  work  after  repeated 

trials,  and  is  now  a  common  laborer. 

I is  a  candy  maker,  but  has  never  been  able  to  find 

employment  in  the  city  ;  he  is  always  told  that  the  white 
help  will  not  work  with  him, 

J is  a  carpenter  ;  he   can  only  secure  odd  jobs  or 

work  where  only  Negroes  are  employed. 

K was  an  upholsterer,  but  could  get  no  work  save  in 

the  few  colored  shops,  which  had  workmen ;  he  is  now  a 
waiter  ou  a  dining  car. 

L was  a  first-class  baker ;  he  applied  for  work  some 

time  ago  near  Green  street  and  was  told  shortly,  "  We 
don't  work  no  niggers  here." 

M is  a  good  typesetter ;  he  has  not  been  allowed  to 

join  the  union  and  has  been  refused  work  at  eight  different 
places  in  the  city. 

N is  a  printer  by  trade,  but  can  only  find  work  as  a 

porter. 

O is  a  sign-painter,  but  can  get  but  little  work. 

P is  a  painter  and  gets  considerable  work,  but  never 

with  white  workmen, 

Q is  a  good  stationary  engineer,  but  can  find  no 

employment ;  is  at  present  a  waiter  in  a  private  family, 

R was  born  in  Jamaica  ;  he  went  to  England  and 

worked  fifteen  years  in  the  Sir  Edward  Green  Economizing 
Works  in  Wakefield,  Yorkshire.  During  dull  times  he 
emigrated  to  America,  bringing  excellent  references.  He 
applied  for  a  place  as  mechanic  in  nearly  all  the  large  iron 


Sect.  47.]  Color  Prejudice.  331 

working  establishments  in  the  city.  A  locomotive  works 
assured  him  that  his  letters  were  all  right,  but  that  their 
men  would  not  work  with  Negroes.  At  a  manufactory  of 
railway  switches  they  told  him  they  had  no  vacancy  and 
he  could  call  again  ;  he  called  and  finally  was  frankly  told 
that  they  could  not  employ  Negroes.  He  applied  twice  to 
a  foundry  company:  they  told  him:  "We  have  use  for 
only  one  Negro— a  porter,"  and  refusing  either  further  con- 
versation or  even  to  look  at  his  letters  showed  him  out. 
He  then  applied  for  work  on  a  new  building;  the  man 
told  him  he  could  leave  an  application,  then  added :  "  To 
tell  the  truth,  its  no  use,  for  we  don't  employ  Negroes." 
Thus  the  man  has  searched  for  work  two  years  and  has  not 
yet  found  a  permanent  position.  He  can  only  support  his 
family  by  odd  jobs  as  a  common  laborer. 

S is  a  stonecutter  ;   he  was  refused  work  repeatedly 

on  account  of  color.  At  last  he  got  a  job  during  a  strike 
and  was  found  to  be  so  good  a  workman  that  his  employer 
refused  to  dismiss  him. 

T wa:S  a  boy,  who,  together  with  a  white  boy  came 

to  the  city  to  hunt  work.  The  colored  boy  was  very  light 
in  complexion,  and  consequently  both  were  taken  in  as 
apprentices  at  a  large  locomotive  works;  they  worked 
there  some  mouths,  but  it  was  finally  disclosed  that  the 
boy  was  colored;  he  was  dismissed  and  the  white  boy 
retained. 

These  all  seem  typical  and  reliable  cases.  There  are,  of 
course,  some  exceptions  to  the  general  rule,  but  even  these 
seem  to  confirm  the  fact  that  exclusion  is  a  matter  of  preju- 
dice and  thoughtlessness  which  sometimes  yields  to  determi- 
nation and  good  sense.  The  most  notable  case  in  point  is  that 
of  the  Midvale  Steel  Works,  where  a  large  number  of  Negro 
workmen  are  regularly  employed  as  mechanics  and  work 
alongside  whites.^  If  another  foreman  should  take  charge 
there,  or  if  friction  should  arise,  it  would  be  easy  for  all 

*  Of.  Section  23. 


332  The  Contact  of  tJie  Races.       [Chap.  XVI. 

this  to  receive  a  seriousset-back,  for  ultimate  success  in 
such  matters  demands  many  experiments  and  a  widespread 
public  sympathy. 

There  are  several  cases  where  strong  personal  influence 
has  secured  colored  boys  positions  ;  in  one  cabinet  making 
factory,  a  porter  who  had  served  the  firm  thirty  years, 
asked  to  have  his  son  learn  the  trade  and  work  in  the 
shop.  The  workmen  objected  strenuously  at  first,  but  the 
employer  was  firm  and  the  young  man  has  been  at  work 
there  now  seven  years.  The  S.  S.  White  Dental  Company 
has  a  colored  chemist  who  has  worked  up  to  his  place  and 
gives  satisfaction.  A  jeweler  allowed  his  colored  fellow- 
soldier  in  the  late  war  to  learn  the  gold  beaters'  trade  and 
work  in  his  shop.     A  few  other  cases  follow : 

A was    intimately  acquainted    with  a  merchant 

and  secured  his  son  a  position  as  a  typewriter  in  the 
merchant's  office. 

B ,  a  stationary  engineer,  came  with  his  employer 

from  Washington  and  still  works  with  him. 

C ,  a  plasterer,    learned  his    trade  with  a  firm   in 

Virginia  who  especially  recommended  him  to  the  firm 
where  he  now  works. 

D is  a  boy  whose  mother's  friend  got  him  work 

as  cutter  in  a  bag  and  rope  factory ;  the  hands  objected 
but  the  friend's  influence  was  strong  enough  to  keep  him 
there. 

All  these  exceptions  prove  the  rule,  viz.,  that  without 
strong  effort  and  special  influence  it  is  next  to  impossible 
for  a  Negro  in  Philadelphia  to  get  regular  employment  in 
most  of  the  trades,  except  he  work  as  an  independent 
workman  and  take  small  transient  jobs. 

The  chief  agency  that  brings  about  this  state  of  affairs 
is  public  opinion ;  if  they  were  not  intrenched,  and  strongly 
intrenched,  back  of  an  active  prejudice  or  at  least  passive 
acquiescence  in  this  effort  to  deprive  Negroes  of  a  decent 
livelihood,  both  trades  unions  and  arbitrary  bosses  would  be 


Sect  47.]  Color  Prejudice.  333 

powerless  to  do  the  harm  they  now  do ;  where,  however,  a 
large  section  of  the  public  more  or  less  openly  applaud  the 
stamina  of  a  man  who  refuses  to  work  with  a  '^Nigger,"  the 
results  are  inevitable.  The  object  of  the  trades  union  is 
purely  business-like ;  it  aims  to  restrict  the  labor  market,  just 
as  the  manufacturer  aims  to  raise  the  price  of  his  goods. 
Here  is  a  chance  to  keep  out  of  the  market  a  vast  number 
of  workmen,  and  the  unions  seize  the  chance  save  in  cases 
where  they  dare  not  as  in  the  case  of  the  cigar-makers  and 
coal-miners.  If  they  could  keep  out  the  foreign  workmen 
in  the  same  way  they  would ;  but  here  public  opinion 
within  and  without  their  ranks  forbids  hostile  action.  Of 
course,  most  unions  do  not  flatly  declare  their  discrimi- 
nations ;  a  few  plainly  put  the  word  "  white  "  into  their 
constitutions ;  most  of  them  do  not  and  will  say  that  they 
consider  each  case  on  its  merits.  Then  they  quietly  black- 
ball the  Negro  applicant.  Others  delay  and  temporize  and 
put  oflF  action  until  the  Negro  withdraws;  still  others 
discriminate  against  the  Negro  in  initiation  fees  and  dues, 
making  a  Negro  pay  $100,  where  the  whites  pay  $25.  On 
the  other  hand  in  times  of  strikes  or  other  disturbances 
cordial  invitations  to  join  are  often  sent  to  Negro  work- 
men.* 

At  a  time  when  women  are  engaged  in  bread  winning  to  a 
larger  degree  than  ever  before,  the  field  open  to  Negro 
women  is  unusually  narrow.  This  is,  of  course,  due  largely 
to  the  more  intense  prejudices  of  females  on  all  subjects, 

*  Two  newspaper  clippings  will  iUustrate  the  attitnde  of  the  workmen ; 
the  first  relates  to  the  Chinese  apprentices  taken  into  the  Baldwin  Loco- 
motive Works: 

The  announcement  that  the  Baldwins  had  taken  five  Chinese  appren- 
tices made  qnite  a  stir  among  labor  leaders.  Some  of  them  worked 
themselves  into  qnite  a  fever  of  indignation.  Charles  P.  Patrick,  grand 
organizer  of  the  Boilermakers'  Union,  was  quite  outspoken  on  the 
subject. 

He  said:  "All  this  plan  of  putting  Chinamen  in  to  learn  trades  sounds 
nice  and  charitable  to  the  Christian  League,  but  how  does  it  sound  to  the 
ean  of  American  mechanics  who  are  walking  the  streets  in  search  of 


r 


334  The  Contact  of  the  Races.         [Chap.  XVI. 

and  especially  to  the  fact  that  women  who  work  dislike  to 
be  in  any  way  mistaken  for  menials,  and  they  regard  Negro 
women  as  menials  par  excellence. 

A ,  a  dressmaker  and  seamstress  of  proven   ability, 

emplojmeot?  I  bave  traveled  all  over  this  country  and  Mexico,  and  I 
have  never  before  seen  Chinamen  given  places  over  the  beads  of  Amcri- 
cans.  In  the  West  and  in  Meiico,  Chinese  labor  is  plentiful,  but  the 
Chinamen  are  given  only  menial  positions.  They  are  servants,  helpers 
in  the  mines  and  laborers.  I  never  before  heard  of  a  Chinaman  being 
given  a  place  as  an  apprentice  in  a  shop. 

"  Our  govemmeat  excludes  Chinese  labor  from  this  country,  yet  here 
19  the  Christian  League  seeking  to  put  forbidden  immigrantsin  a  position 
Vfbere  they,  with  their  pecuharly  cheap,  even  beggarly  style  of  living, 
can  compete  with  American  labor.  I  have  only  been  in  this  city  for  a 
few  days,  but  I  venture  to  say  I  have  seen  more  beggars  and  men  oat  of 
work  around  Eighth  and  Market  streets  than  T  have  seen  in  the  whole 
City  of  Mexico." 

Missionary  Frederic  Poole  disposed  of  this  argument  in  a  few  words. 
He  said:  "  It  is  not  my  idea,  nor  the  idea  of  Mr.  Converse,  that  these 
men  should  at  any  time  compete  with  American  wortcingmen.  It  is  not 
the  wish  of  the  men  themselves.  Mr.  Converse  would  not  have  given 
them  employment  had  any  such  thing  been  intended. 

"  To-day  China  is  building  a  vast  railroad  to  Pekin  that  will  open  ap 
all  the  wealthy  and  fertile  region  of  Central  China.  The  enterprise  is 
under  the  direction  of  the  government.  It  will  be  in  operation  in  about 
four  years.  Men  of  intelligence  will  be  needed  for  engineers,  and  there 
my  five  prot^gfs  will  find  their  life  work.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  the 
Chinese  Government  will  send  for  them  before  their  apprenticeship  is 

John  H.  Converse  was  rather  interested  when  he  learned  of  objections 
to  hia  Chinese  apprentices.  "  We  might  have  expected  such  objections 
from  professional  agitators,"  he  said,  "  but  I  do  not  think  you  will  learn 
of  any  among  our  employes." 

Continuing,  he  said:  "The  Baldwin  Locomotive  Works  is  now  con- 
structing eight  locomotives  for  the  Chinese  Government,  which  will  be 
the  first  to  run  over  the  great  new  railroad  being  built  from  Pekin  to 
Tien-Tsin.  American  workingmen  would  be  very  narrow  indeed  if  they 
cannot  see  that  it  is  to  their  own  immediate  advantage  that  Chinese 
mechanics  fit  to  look  aRer  American  locomotives  shall  be  trained  at  once, 
for  the  time  is  coming  when  thousanils  of  American  workingmen  may  be 
kept  busy  from  the  extension  of  railroad  building  in  China. 

"These  five  boys  are  Phil adel phi ans.  They  were  not  brought  here, 
and  every  broad-minded  mechanic  will  believe  that  their  apprenticeship 
in  our  shops,  should  they,  as  they  probably  will,  return  to  China,  must 
mean  sometbing  for  the  American  locomotive.    They  are  the  first  to  be 


Sect  47.]  Color  Prejudice.  335 

sought  work  in  the  large  department  stores.  They  all 
commended  her  work,  but  could  not  employ  her  on  account 
of  her  color. 

B is  a  typewriter,   but  has  applied  at  stores  and 


admitted  to  a  locomotive  works  in  this  conntry,  and  the  news  wUl  in  all 
likelihood  create  a  more  friendly  feeling  in  the  railroad  department  of 
the  Chinese  Government  for  American  products." 

Mr.  Converse  said  that  his  firm  had  no  thought  of  extending  the  privi- 
lege beyond  the  present  number  of  Chinese  apprentices. — Philadelphia 
Public  Ledger ,  January  5,  1897. 

No  Negro  apprentices  have  ever  been  admitted. 

The  other  clipping  is  a  report  of  the  discussion  in  the  annual  meeting 
of  the  Federation  of  Labor: 

The  Negro  question  occupied  the  major  portion  of  the  session,  and 
a  heated  discussion  was  brought  on  by  a  resolution  by  Henry  Lloyd, 
reaffirming  the  declarations  of  the  Federation  that  all  labor,  without 
regard  to  color,  is  welcome  to  its  ranks — denouncing  as  untrue  in  fact 
the  reported  statements  of  Booker  T.  Washington  that  the  trades  unions 
were  placing  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  material  advancement  of  the 
Negro,  and  appealing  to  the  records  of  the  Federation  Conventions 
as  complete  answers  to  such  false  assertions. 

This  resolution  caused  much  spirited  discussion.  Delegate  Jones,  of 
Augusta,  Ga.,  spoke,  claiming  that  the  white  laborer  could  not  compete 
with  the  Negro  laborer,  though  organization  would  improve  conditions 
materially.  President  Gompers  took  part  in  the  discussion,  explaining 
that  the  movement  was  not  against  the  Negro  laborer,  but  against  the 
cheap  laborer,  and  that  the  textile  workers  of  the  East  had  been  com- 
peUed  to  contribute  most  of  their  means  to  teach  laborers  in  the  South 
the  benefits  of  organization. 

He  also  made  the  point  that  the  capitalist  would  profit  by  the  failure 
of  the  Negro  laborers  to  organize,  thus  making  the  Negro  an  impediment 
to  labor  movements. 

C.  P.  Frahey,  a  Nashville  delegate,  insisted  that  the  Negro  was  not  the 
«qual  of  the  white  man  socially  or  industrially.  He  grew  warm  in  speak- 
ing of  President  Gompers'  remarks  regarding  the  Negro  in  the  labor 
movement,  and  stated  that  the  President  had  not  revoked  the  commission 
-of  a  National  Organizer  who  had  patronized  a  non-union  white  barber 
shop  in  preference  to  a  union  Negro  barber  shop. 

The  organizer  had  simply  been  allowed  to  resign  and  no  publicity  had 
'beenjgiven  the  matter.  In  answer  to  a  question  desiring  the  name  of  the 
party,|Frahey  stated  it  was  Jesse  Johnson,  president  of  the  pressmen. 

James  0*Connell  and  P.  J.  McGuire  spoke  for  the  resolution.  The 
latterl^insisted  that  Booker  T.  Washington  was  attempting  to  put  the 
l^egrojbefore  the  public  as  the  victim  of  gross  injustice,  and  himself  as  the 


336  The  Contact  of  the  Races.        [Chap.  XVI. 

offices  in  vain  for  work ;  "  very  sorry  "  they  all  say,  but 
they  can  give  her  no  work.  She  has  answered  many 
advertisements  without  result, 

C has   attended   the   Girls   High    School    for   two 

years,  and  has  been  unable  to  find  any  work ;  she  is  wash- 
ing and  sewing  for  a  living  now. 

D is  a  dressmaker  and    milliner,    and    does    bead 

work,  "  Your  work  is  very  good,"  they  say  to  her,  "  but 
if  we  hired  you  all  of  our  ladies  would  leave," 

E ,   a    seamstress,    was  given   work    from  a  store 

once,  to  do  at  home.  It  was  commended  as  satisfactory, 
but  they  gave  her  no  more. 

F had  two  daughters  who  tried  to  get  work  as 

stenographers,  but  got  only  one  small  job. 

G is  a  graduate  of  the  Girls   High  School,  with 

excellent  record ;  both  teachers  and  influential  friends 
have  been  seeking  work  for  her  but  have  not  been  able  to 
find  any. 

H a  girl,    applied  at    seven  stores   for  some  work 

not  menial ;  they  had  none. 

I started  at  the  Schuylkill,  on  Market  street,  and 

applied  at  almost  every  store  nearly  to  the  Delaware,  for 
work  ;  she  was  only  offered  scrubbing.' 


Moses  of  the  race.  U,  D.  Rathford  insisted  that  drawing  the  color  line 
would  be  a  blow  to  tbe  miners'  organization. 

W.  D.  Mabon  chnrged  that  Jones  was  not  a  rep  resell  tative  of  Sonthent 
trades  unionism,  having  just  joined  the  ranks.  Jones  then,  in  his  own 
defence,  declared  he  did  not  oppose  the  Negro,  but  did  contend  that  the 
N^ro  laborer  was  lower  than  the  white,  citing  an  Atlanta  case,  where 
whites  and  blacks  had  been  jointly  employed  and  the  whites  struck. 

He  wanted  to  know  if  there  had  been  any  efforts  made  iu  the  Bast  to 
organiie  Chinese  who  came  in  conflict  with  the  union  labor.  President 
Gompers  then  ruled  that  the  discussion  must  cease. 

The  resolution  which  had  caused  the  heated  debate  waa  adopted,  and 
the  delegates  went  into  executive  session. — Public  Ledger,  December 
17,  1897. 

•  From  the  facta  tabnlaled,  it  appears  that  one-twentieth  of  the  colored 
domestic  servants  of  Philadelphia  have  trades,  while  in  addition  to  this 
one-tenth  have  had  some  higher  school  training  and  are  presumably 


I 


Sect.  47-]  Color  Prejudice.  337" 

2.  So  much  for  the  difficulty  of  getting  work.  In 
addition  to  this  the  Negro  is  meeting  difficulties  in  keeping 
the  work  he  has,  or  at  least  the  better  part  of  it  Out- 
side of  all  dissatisfaction  with  Negro  work  there  are  whtms. 


fitted  to  be  something  more  than  ordinary  domestics.  Why  then  do  they 
not  enter  these  fields  iDstead  or  drifliug  into  or  deliberately  choosing 
domestic  service  as  a  means  of  livelihood?  The  answer  is  simple.. 
In  a  majority  of  cases  the  reason  why  they  do  not  enter  other  fields' 
is  because  they  arc  colored  not  because  they  are  incompetent.  Many- 
instances  might  be  cited  in  proof  of  this,  were  proof  needed.  The- 
following  cases  are  only  some  of  those  that  were  personally  encoantetcd  by 
the  investigator  in  one  ward  of  one  city. 

One  very  fair  young  girl,  apparently  a  white  girl,  was  employed  as  a 
clerk  in  one  of  the  large  department  stores  for  over  two  years,  so  that 
there  was  no  question  of  her  competency  as  a  clerk.  At  the  end  of  thi* 
time  it  was  discovered  that  she  had  colored  blood  and  she  was  promptly 
discharged.  One  young  woman  who  had  been  a  teacher  and  ia  now  a.'- 
school  janitress,  teaching  occasionally  when  extra  help  is  needed,  atatcs-- 
that  she  had  received  au  appointment  as  typewriter  in  a  certain  I^itadel-- 
phia  office,  on  the  strength  of  her  letter  of  application  and  wben  she  - 
appeared  and  was  seen  to  be  a  colored  girl,  the  position  was  refused  her. 
She  said  that  her  brother— whom  people  usually  take  to  be  a  white-man  ' 
—after  serving  in  the  barbershop  of  a  certain  hotel  for  more  than  ten/ 
years,  was  summarily  discharged  when  it  was  learned  that  he  was  of 
Negro  birth.  One  woman,  who  was  a  seamstress  and  dressmaker,  stated 
that  she  had  on  several  occasions  gotten  work  from  a  certain  churcti 
home  when  :he  wore  a  heavy  veil,  on  making  her  application  at  the- 
office,  but  that  on  the  first  occasion  when  alie  wore  no  veil  her  applica- 
tion was  refused  and  had  been  every  time  since.  Of  course  many  of  the 
men  in  domestic  service  have  had  similar  experiences.  Ten  men  ont 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  had  trades,  but  none  of  them  were  members 
of  the  trades  unions. 

Mr.  McGuire,  vice-president  of  the  Federation  of  Labor,  stated  to  the 
present  investigator  that  the  Federation  claims  that  colored  men  may 
be  members  of  any  trade  union  represented  in  the  Federation.  But  what 
this  profession  amounts  to  may  be  judged  from  Mr.  McGuire's  further 
statement,  quoted  verbatim:  "A  majority  are  willing  to  have  them 
admitted,  but  a  strong  minority  will  oppose  it.  Not  a  word  will  be  said 
gainst  it  in  discussion,  but  quietly  at  the  ballot  Ihey  will  mle  them  out." 

How  this  profession  of  admission,  which  amounts  to  practical  exclu- 
sion, looks  from  the  workingman's  point  of  view  is  shown  in  the  experi- 
ence of  a  first-rate  colored  carpenter  and  builder  in  the  Seventh  Ward 
who  was  induced  to  apply  for  admission  to  the  Carpenters'  Union.  He 
asked  an  officer  of  the  Amalgamated   Association   of  Carpenters  and 


r 


338  Tlie  Contact  of  the  Races.        [Chap.  XVI. 

and  fashions  that  affect  his  economic  position ;  to-day 
general  European  travel  has  made  the  trained  English 
servant  popular  and  consequently  well-shaven  white  men- 
servants,  whether  English  or  not,  find  it  easy  to  replace 


Joiners,  one  of  the  allied  societies  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor, 
If  it  would  be  of  any  use  for  him  to  apply  to  the  Union  for  memberahip. 
"If  you  know  your  trade  and  are  a  carpenter  in  good  and  regular 
•landing,  I  see  no  reason  why  you  should  not  become  a  member,"  said 
tbe  officer.  "  So  he  sent  me  to  the  present  secretary  of  the  association, 
and  when  I  put  the  question  to  him,  he  said,  'Well,  he  didn't  know 
wbettaei  I  could  join  or  not,  because  they  bad  never  had  a  colored  man 
in  the  Union,  but  he  would  report  il  to  the  association  here  [PbiladelptaJB] 
and  would  write  to  headquarters  in  New  York  to  see  if  it  would  be  admis- 
sible to  enter  a  colored  mau,'  He  put  it  on  the  ground  of  my  color,  yon 
see."  This  application  was  made  in  December,  1896.  The  applicant  was 
told  that  the  matter  would  be  acted  on  in  the  Union  on  a  certain  uight  in 
January,  1897,  aod  every  attempt  was  made  to  send  a  man  to  report  that 
particular  meeting,  but  without  success.  What  occurred  is  not  hard  to 
guesi,  however,  since  the  colored  carpenter  whose  case  was  then  conad- 
«red  baa  received  no  word  from  the  Union  from  that  day  to  this.  He  has 
called  at  the  secretary's  office  three  or  four  times  and  left  word  that  he 
would  like  to  hear  what  action  was  taken  regarding  his  application  for 
admission  to  the  Uuion,  but  December  i,  1897,  be  had  received  no  answer 
to  bis  application  made  in  December,  1896. 

Tbe  effi:ct  of  this  is  well  illustrated  by  the  case  of  a  young  colored 
"waiter  man  "  on  Pine  street,  wbose  case  may  be  taken  as  typical.  He 
had  ttudied  three  years  at  Hampton,  where  be  bad  learned  in  that  lime 
Ihe  stone-cutter's  trade.  He  could  practice  this  in  Georgia,  be  said,  but 
in  the  South  stone-cutters  get  only  J2.00  a  day  as  compared  with  J3.50, 
Hometiraes  (4,00  a  day,  in  the  North.  So  he  came  North  with  the  promise 
of  a  job  of  stone-cutting  for  a  new  block  of  buildings  to  be  erected  by  a 
Philadelphian  he  had  met  in  Georgia,  He  received  $3,50  a  day,  but  when 
the  block  was  done  be  could  get  no  other  job  at  stone-cutting  and  so 
went  into  donie<^tic  service,  where  he  is  receiving  f6.35  a  week  instead  of 
tbe  Szi.no  a  week  he  should  be  receiving  as  a  stone-cutter. 

The  effect  on  domestic  service  is  to  swell  Its  already  over-full  ranks  with 
discontented  young  men  and  women  whom  one  would  naturally  expect 
to  find  renderinghalf-heartedservicebecause  they  consider  their  domestic 
work  only  a  temporary  makeshift  employment.  One  sometimes  bears  it 
said  that  "  our  waiter  has  graduated  from  such  and  such  a  school,  but  we 
notice  that  he  is  not  even  a  very  good  waiter."  Such  comments  give  rise 
to  tbe  speculation  as  to  tbe  success  in  ditch  digging  which  would  be  likely 
to  attend  upon  the  labors  of  college  professors,  or  indeed,  how  many  of 
the  jonng  white  men  who  have  graduated  from  college  and  from  law 


Ji 


Sect  47.]  Color  Prejudice.  339 

Negro  butlers  and  coaclimen  at  higher  wages.  Again, 
though  a  man  ordinarily  does  not  dismiss  all  his  white 
mill-hands  because  some  turn  out  badly,  yet  it  repeatedly 
happens  that  men  dismiss  all  their  colored  servants  and 
condemn  their  race  because  one  or  two  in  their  employ 
have  proven  untrustworthy.  Finally,  the  antipathies  of 
lower  classes  are  so  great  that  it  is  often  impracticable  to 
mix  races  among  the  servants.  A  young  colored  girl 
went  to  work  temporarily  in  Germantown ;  "  I  should  like 
so  much  to  keep  you  permanently,"  said  the  mistress,  "  but 
all  my  other  servants  are  white."  She  was  discharged. 
Usually  now  advertisements  for  help  state  whether  white 
or  Negro  servants  are  wanted,  and  the  Negro  who  applies 
at  the  wrong  place  must  not  be  surprised  to  have  the  door 
slammed  in  his  face. 

The  diflSculties  encountered  by  the  Negro  on  account  of 
sweeping  conclusions  made  about  him  are  manifold ;  a 
large  building,  for  instance,  has  several  poorly  paid  Negro 
janitors,  without  facilities  for  their  work  or  guidance  in  its 
prosecution.  Finally  the  building  is  thoroughly  overhauled 
or  rebuilt,  elevators  and  electricity  installed  and  a  well-paid 
set  of  white  uniformed  janitors  put  to  work  under  a  re- 
sponsible salaried  chief.  Immediately  the  public  concludes 
that  the  improvement  in  the  service  is  due  to  the  change 
of  color.  In  some  cases,  of  course,  the  change  is  due  to  a 
widening  of  the  field  of  choice  in  selecting  servants ;  for 
assuredly  one  cannot  expect  that  one  twenty-fifth  of  the 
population  can  furnish  as  many  good  workmen  or  as 
uniformly  good  ones  as  the  other  twenty-four  twenty-fifths. 
One  actual  case  illustrates  this  tendency  to  exclude  the 


schools  would  show  themselves  excellent  waiters,  particularly  if  they 
took  up  the  work  simply  as  a  temporary  expedient.  A  "  match  "  between 
Yale  and  Hampton,  where  mental  activities  must  be  confined  to  the 
walls  of  the  butler's  pantry,  and  where  there  were  to  be  no  "fumbles" 
with  soup  plates,  might  bring  out  interesting  and  suggestive  points. 

ISAB81.  Eaton. 


540  T^ie  Contact  of  the  Races.        [Chap.  XVI. 

Negro  without  proper  consideration  from  even  menial 
employment : 

A.  great  church  which  has  a  number  of  members  among 
the  most  respectable  Negro  families  in  the  city  has  recently 
erected  a  large  new  building  for  its  offices,  etc.,  in  the  city. 
As  the  building  was  nearing  completion  a  colored  clergy- 
man of  that  sect  was  surprised  to  hear  that  no  Negroes 
were  to  be  employed  in  the  building;  he  thought  that  a 
peculiar  stand  for  a  Christian  church  to  take  and  so  he  went 
to  the  manager  of  the  building ;  the  manager  blandly 
assured  him  that  the  rumor  was  true ;  and  that  there  was 
not  the  shadow  of  a  chance  for  a  Negro  to  get  employment 
under  him,  except  one  woman  to  clean  the  water  closet. 
The  reason  for  this,  he  said,  was  that  the  janitors  and  help 
were  all  to  be  uniformed  and  the  whites  would  not  wear 
uniforms  with  Negroes.  The  clergyman  thereupon  went 
to  a  prominent  member  of  the  church  who  was  serving  on 
the  building  committee  ;  he  denied  that  the  committee  had 
made  any  such  decision,  but  sent  him  to  another  member 
of  the  committee  ;  this  member  said  the  same  thing  and 
referred  to  tlie  third,  a  blunt  business  man.     The  business 

man  said  :  "  That  building  is  called  the Church 

House,  but  it  is  more  than  that,  it  is  a  business  enterprise, 
to  be  run  on  business  principles.  We  hired  a  man  to  run 
it  so  as  to  get  the  most  out  of  it.  We  found  such  a  man 
in  the  present  manager,  and  put  all  power  in  his  hands." 
He  acknowledged  then,  that  while  the  committee  had 
made  no  decision,  the  question  of  hiring  Negroes  had  come 
up  and  it  was  left  solely  to  the  manager's  decision.  The 
manager  thought  most  Negroes  were  dishonest  and  untrust- 
worthy, etc.  And  thus  the  Christian  church  joins  hands 
with  trades  unions  and  a  large  public  opinion  to  force 
Negroes  into  idleness  and  crime. 

Sometimes  Negroes,  by  special  influence,  as  has  been 
pointed  out  before,  secure  good  positions;  then  there  are 
other  cases  where  colored  men  have  by  sheer  merit  and 


Sect.  47.]  Color  Prejudice.  341 

pluck  secured  positions.  In  all  these  cases,  however,  they 
are  liable  to  lose  their  places  through  no  fault  of  their  own 
and  primarily  on  account  of  their  Negro  blood.  It  may  be 
that  at  first  their  Negro  descent  is  not  known,  or  other 
causes  may  operate;  in  all  cases  the  Negro's  tenure  of 
office  is  insecure : 

A worked    in  a  large   tailor's    establishment   on 

Third  street  for  three  weeks.  His  work  was  acceptable. 
Then  it  became  known  he  was  colored  and  he  was  dis- 
charged as  the  other  tailors  refused  to  work  with  him. 

B ,  a  pressman,  was  employed  on  Twelfth  street,  but 

a  week  later  was  discharged  when  they  knew  he  was 
colored ;  he  then  worked  as  a  door-boy  for  five  years,  and 
finally  got  another  job  in  a  Jewish  shop  as  pressman. 

C was  nine  years  a  painter  in  Stewart's  Furniture 

Factory,  until  Stewart  failed  four  years  ago.  Has 
applied  repeatedly,  but  could  get  no  work  on  account  of 
color.  He  now  works  as  a  night  watchman  on  the  streets 
for  the  city. 

D was  a  stationary  engineer;  his  employer  died, 

and  he  has  never  been  able  to  find  another. 

E was  light  in  complexion  and  got  a  job  as  driver ; 

he  "kept  his  cap  on,"  but  when  they  found  he  was  colored 
they  discharged  him. 

F was  one   of  many  colored   laborers  at  an  ink 

feictory.  The  heads  of  the  firm  died,  and  now  whenever  a 
Negro  leaves  a  white  man  is  put  in  his  place. 

G worked  for  a  long  time  as  a  typesetter  on  Tag- 

gart's  Times;  when  the  paper  changed  hands  he  was 
discharged  and  has  never  been  able  to  get  another  job ;  he 
is  now  a  janitor. 

H was  a  brickmason,   but  his  employers  finally 

refused  to  let  him  lay  brick  longer  as  his  fellow  workmen 
were  all  white  ;  he  is  now  a  waiter. 

L learned   the    trade    of   range-setting    from  his 

employer ;  the  employer  then  refused  him  work  and  he 


r 


343  The  Contact  of  the  Races.       [Chap.  XVI. 

went  into  business  for  himself ;  he  has  taught  four  appren- 
tices. 

M is  a  woman   whose   husband   was  janitor  for  a 

firm  twenty  years ;  when  they  moved  to  the  new  Betz 
Building  they  discharged  him  as  all  the  janitors  there  were 
white  ;  after  his  death  they  could  find  no  work  for  his  boy. 

N was  a  porter  in  a  book  store  and  rose  to  be  head 

postmaster  of  a  sub-station  iu  Philadelphia  which  handles 
$250,000,  it  is  said,  a  year ;  he  was  also  at  the  head  of  a 
very  efficient  Bureau  of  Information  in  a  large  department 
store.  Recently  attempts  have  been  made  to  displace 
him,  for  no  specified  fault  but  because  "  we  want  his  place 
for  another  [whitej  man," 

O is  a  well-known  instance;  an  observer  in  1898 

wrote :  "  If  any  Philadelphian  who  is  anxious  to  study  the 
matter  with  his  own  eyes,  will  walk  along  South  Eleventh 
street,  from  Chestnut  down,  and  will  note  the  most  tasteful 
and  enterprising  stationery  and  periodical  store  along  the 
way,  it  will  pay  him  to  enter  it.  On  entering  he  will,  accord- 
ing to  his  way  of  thinking,  be  pleased  or  grieved  to  see  that 
it  is  conducted  by  Negroes.  If  the  proprietor  happens  to  be 
in  he  may  know  that  this  keen-looking  pleasant  young 
man  was  once  assistant  business  manager  of  a  large  white 
religious  newspaper  in  the  city.  A  change  of  management 
led  to  his  dismissal.  No  fault  was  found,  his  work  was 
commended,  but  a  white  man  was  put  into  his  place,  and 
profuse  apologies  made. 

"The  clerk  behind  the  counter  is  his  sister;  a  neat  lady- 
like woman,  educated,  and  trained  in  stenography  and 
typewriting.  She  could  not  find  in  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia, any  one  who  had  the  slightest  use  for  such  a  colored 
woman. 

"  The  result  of  this  situation  is  this  little  store,  which  is 
remarkably  successful.  The  proprietor  owns  the  stock, 
the  store  and  the  building.  This  is  one  tale  of  its  sort  with 
a  pleasant  ending.     Other  tales  are  far  less  pleasing." 


Sect.  47.]  Color  Prejudice.  343 

Much  discouragement  results  from  the  persistent  refusal 
to  promote  colored  employes.  The  humblest  white 
employe  knows  that  the  better  he  does  his  work  the  more 
chance  there  is  for  him  to  rise  in  the  business.  The  black 
employe  knows  that  the  better  he  does  his  work  the  longer 
he  may  do  it ;  he  cannot  often  hope  for  promotion.  This 
makes  much  of  the  criticism  aimed  against  Negroes, 
because  some  of  them  want  to  refuse  menial  labor,  lose 
something  of  its  point.  If  the  better  class  of  Negro  boys 
could  look  on  such  labor  as  a  stepping-stone  to  some- 
thing higher  it  would  be  different ;  if  they  must  view  it  as 
a  lifework  we  cannot  wonder  at  their  hesitation : 

A has  been  a  porter  at  a  great  locomotive  works  for 

ten  years.  He  is  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  has  picked  up 
considerable  knowledge  of  machinery ;  he  was  formerly 
allowed  to  work  a  little  as  a  machinist ;  now  that  is  stopped 
and  he  has  never  been  promoted  and  probably  never  will  be. 

B has  worked  in  a  shop  eight  years  and  never  been 

promoted  from  his  porter's  position,  although  he  is  a  capa- 
ble man. 

C is  a  porter ;  he  has  been  in  a  hardware  store  six 

years ;  he  is  bright  and  has  repeatedly  been  promised 
advancement  but  has  never  got  it 

D was  for  seven  years  in  a  gang  of  porters  in  a 

department  store,  and  part  of  the  time  acted  as  foreman. 
He  had  a  white  boy  under  him  who  disliked  him ; 
eventually  the  boy  was  promoted  but  he  remained  a 
porter.  Finally  the  boy  became  his  boss  and  discharged 
him. 

E ,  a  woman,  worked  long  in  a  family  of  lawyers  ;  a 

white  lad  went  into  their  oflSce  as  office-boy  and  came  to 
be  a  member  of  the  firm  ;  she  had  a  smart,  ambitious  son 
and  asked  for  any  sort  of  office  work  for  him — ^anything  in 
which  he  could  hope  for  promotion.  "Why  don't  you 
make  him  a  waiter  ?  "  they  asked. 

F has   for  twenty-one   years  driven  for  a  lumber 


344  ^-^"^  Contact  of  the  Races.         [Chap.  XVI. 

firm  ;  speaks  German  and  is  very  useful  to  them,  but  they 
have  never  promoted  him. 

G was  a  porter ;  he  begged  for  a  chance  to  work  up ; 

offering  to  do  clerical  work  for  nothing,  but  was  refused. 
White  companions  were  repeatedly  promoted  over  his  head. 
He  has  been  a  porter  seventeen  years. 

H was  a  servant  in  the  family  of  one  of  the  members 

■  of  a  large  dry  goods  fimi ;  he  was  so  capable  that  the 
■employer  sent  him  down  to  the  store  for  a  place  which 
the  manager  very  reluctantly  gave  him.  He  rose  to  be 
registering  clerk  in  the  delivering  department  where  he 
■worked  fourteen  years  and  his  work  was  commended. 
Recently  without  notice  or  complaint  he  was  changed  to 
nin  an  elevator  at  the  same  wages.  He  thinks  that  pres- 
sure from  other  members  of  the  firm  made  him  lose  his  work. 
Once  in  a  while  there  are  exceptions  to  this  rule.  The 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  has  promoted  one  bright  and  persis- 
tent porter  to  a  clerkship,  which  he  has  held  for  years. 
He  had,  however,  spent  his  life  hunting  chances  for  promo- 
tion and  had  been  told  "  You  have  ability  enough,  Geoi^^ 

if  you  were  not  colored ," 

There  is  much  discrimination  against  Negroes  in  wages.^ 


'  Id  the  case  of  the  Colored  people,  the  number  of  mother  wage- 
camera  more  than  doubles  the  number  of  widows.  This  is  due  to  the 
■mall  average  wage  of  the  Colored  husband — the  suiallest  among  the 
twenty-seven  nationalities.  The  laundress  is  the  economic  supplement 
of  the  porter.  .  .  .  It  is  not  because  the  Colored  husband  of  this 
district  neglects  his  responsibility  as  a  wage-winuer  tbat  so  many  Colored 
women  are  forced  into  supplemental  toil,  for  98.7  per  cent  of  the  Colored 
husbands  are  wagc-eaniets,  and  only  93.3  per  cent  of  the  Ameiican,  90.3 
per  cent  of  the  Irish,  96  per  cent  of  the  German,  93.7  per  cent  of  the 
Italian,  93.1  per  cent  of  the  French.  The  Danes,  80  percent;  Cana- 
dians, 81.8  per  cent;  Russians,  85.7  per  cent,  and  Hungarians,  88.8  per 
-cent,  have  the  smallest  percentages.  Of  the  more  largely  represented 
nationalities,  the  French  most  nearly  approacll  the  Colored  people  in  the 
percentage  of  their  wives  who  are  wage-earners;  but  while  the  French 
percentage  is  ai.6  per  cent,  the  Colored  people's  percentage  is  53.6  per 
cent."  Dr.  W.  Laidlaw  in  the  "Report  of  a  Sociological  Canvass  of  .the 
Nineteenth  Assembly  District,"  a  slum  section  of  New  York  City,  in 
■897. 


"Sect  47.]  Color  Preyudice.  345 

The  Negroes  have  fewer  chances  for  work,  have  been  used 
to  low  wages,  and  consequently  the  first  thought  that 
occurs  to  the  average  employer  is  to  give  a  Negro  less  than 
he  would  oflFer  a  white  man  for  the  same  work.  This  is 
not  universal,  but  it  is  widespread.  In  domestic  service 
of  the  ordinary  sort  there  is  no  difference,  because  the 
wages  are  a  matter  of  custom.  When  it  comes  to  waiters, 
l)utlers  and  coachmen,  however,  there  is  considerable 
difference  made;  while  white  coachmen  receive  from 
l50-$75,  the  Negroes  do  not  get  usually  more  than 
$30-$6o.  Negro  hotel  waiters  get  from  $i8-$20,  while 
whites  receive  $20-$30.  Naturally  when  a  hotel  manager 
replaces  $20  men  with  $30  men  he  may  expect,  outside 
any  question  of  color,  better  service. 

In  ordinary  work  the  competition  forces  down  the  wages 
outside  mere  race  reasons,  though  the  Negro  is  the  greatest 
sufferer;  this  is  especially  the  case  in  laundry  work. 
**  I've  counted  as  high  as  seven  dozen  pieces  in  that  wash- 
ing," said  a  weary  black  woman,  "  and  she  pays  me  only 
$1.25  a  week  for  it"  Persons  who  throw  away  $5  a 
week  on  gew-gaws  will  often  haggle  over  twenty-five  cents 
with  a  washerwoman.  There  are,  however,  notable  excep- 
tions to  these  cases,  where  good  wages  are  paid  to  persons 
who  have  long  worked  for  the  same  family. 

Very  often  if  a  Negro  is  pven  a  chance  to  work  at  a 
trade  his  wages  are  cut  down  for  the  privilege.  This  gives 
the  workingman's  prejudice  additional  intensity: 

A got  a  job  formerly  held  by  a  white  porter ;  the 

wages  were  reduced  from  $12  to  $8. 

B worked  for  a  firm  as  china  packer,  and  they  said 

he  was  the  best  packer  they  had.  He,  however,  received 
but  $6  a  week  while  the  white  packers  received  $12. 

C has  been  porter  and  assistant  shipping  clerk  in  an 

Arch  street  store  for  five  years.  He  receives  $6  a  week 
and  whites  get  $8  for  the  same  work. 

D is  a  stationary  engineer ;   he  learned  his  trade 


346  The   Contact  of  ike  Races.       [Chap.  XVI. 

■with  this  finn  and  has  been  with  them  ten  years.  Formerly 
he  received  Jg  a  week,  now  $10.50 ;  whites  get  $12  for  the 
same  work, 

E is  a  stationary  engineer  and  has  been  in  his  place 

three  years.     He  receives  but  $9  a  week. 

F works  with  several  other  Negroes  with  a  firm  of 

electrical  engineers.  The  white  laborers  receive  $z  a 
day  :  "  We've  got  to  be  glad  to  get  $1.75." 

G was  a  carpenter,  but  could  get  neither  sufEcient 

work  nor  satisfactory  wages.  For  a  job  on  which  he 
received  $15  a  week,  his  white  successor  got  $18. 

H ,  a  cementer,  receives  $1-75  a  day;  white  work- 
men get  $2-$3.     He  has  been  promised  more  next  fall. 

I ,  a  plasterer,  has  worked  for  one  boss  twenty-seven 

years.  Regular  plasterers  get  $4  or  more  a  day  ;  he  does 
the  same  work,  but  cannot  join  the  uuiou  and  is  paid  as  a 
laborer — $2.50  a  day. 

J works  as  a  porter  in  a  department  store  ;  is  mar- 
ried, and  receives  $8  a  week,  "  They  pay  the  same  to 
white  unmarried  shop-girls,  who  stand  a  chance  to  be 
promoted." 

3.  If  a  Negro  enters  some  line  of  employment  in  which 
people  are  not  used  to  seeing  him,  he  suffers  from  an 
assumption  that  he  is  unfit  for  the  work.  It  is  reported 
that  a  Chestnut  street  firm  once  took  a  Negro  shop  girl, 
but  the  protests  of  their  customers  were  such  that  they  had 
to  dismiss  her.  A  great  many  merchants  hesitate  to 
advance  Negroes  lest  they  should  lose  custom.  Negro 
merchants  who  have  attempted  to  start  business  in  the  city 
at  first  encounter  much  difficulty  from  this  prejudice: 

A has  a  bakery  ;  white  people  sometimes  enter  and" 

finding  Negroes  in  charge  abruptly  leave. 

B is  a  baker  and  had   a  shop  some  years  on  Vine 

street,  but  prejudice  against  him  barred  him  from  gaining 
much  custom. 

C is  a  successful  expressman  with  a  large  business  ;, 


J. 


A 


Sect.  47-]  Color  Prejudice.  347 

he  is  sometimes  told  by  persons  that  they  prefer  to 
patronize  white  expressmen, 

D is  a  woman  and  keeps  a   hair  store  on  South 

street     Customers  sometimes  enter,  look  at  her,  and  leave. 

E is  a  music  teacher  on  Lombard  street     Several 

white  people  have  ^entered  and  seeing  him,  said  :  "  Oh  !  I 
thought  you  were  white — excuse  me ! "  or  *'  I'll  call  again ! " 

Even  among  the  colored  people  themselves  some  preju- 
dice of  this  sort  is  met.  Once  a  Negro  physician  could 
not  get  the  patronage  of  Negroes  because  they  were  not 
used  to  the  innovation.  Now  they  have  a  large  part  of  the 
Negro  patronage.  The  Negro  merchant,  however,  still 
lacks  the  full  confidence  of  his  own  people  though  this  is 
slowly  growing.  It  is  one  of  the  paradoxes  of  this  question 
to  see  a  people  so  discriminated  against  sometimes  add  to 
their  misfortunes  by  discriminating  against  themselves. 
They  themselves,  however,  are  beginning  to  recognize  this. 

4.  The  chief  discrimination  against  Negroes  in  expendi- 
ture is  in  the  matter  of  rents.  There  can  be  no  reasonable 
doubt  but  that  Negroes  pay  excessive  rents : 

A paid  $13  a  month  where  the  preceding  white 

fjE^ily  had  paid  $10. 

B paid  $16 ;  "  heard  that  former  white  family  paid 

$12." 

C paid  $25  ;  "  heard  that  former  white  family  paid 

|20." 

D paid  $12  ;  neighbors  say  that  former  white  family 

paid  $9. 

E paid  $25,  instead  of  $18. 

F paid  $12,  instead  of  $10. 

G the  Negro  inhabitants  of  the  whole  street  pay  $1% 

to  $14  and  the  whites  $9  and  $10.  The  houses  are  all 
alike. 

H ,  whites  on  this  street  pay  1 15-$! 8;  Negroes  pay 

|l8-$2I. 

Not  only  is  there  this  pretty  general  discrimination  in 


348  The  Contact  of  the  Races.        [Chap.  XVI. 

rent,  but  agents  and  owners  will  not  usually  repair  the 
houses  of  the  blacks  willingly  or  improve  them.  In 
addition  to  this  agents  and  owners  in  many  sections  utterly 
refuse  to  rent  to  Negroes  on  any  terms.  Both  these  sorts 
of  discrimination  are  easily  defended  from  a  merely  business 
point  of  view;  public  opinion  in  the  city  is  such  that  the 
presence  of  even  a  respectable  colored  family  in  a  block 
will  affect  its  value  for  renting  or  sale ;  increased  rent  to 
Negroes  is  therefore  a  sort  of  insurance,  and  refusal  to 
rent  a  device  for  money-getting.  The  indefensible  cruelty 
lies  with  those  classes  who  refuse  to  recognize  the  right  of 
respectable  Negro  citizens  to  respectable  houses.  Real 
estate  agents  also  increase  prejudice  by  refusing  to  dis- 
criminate between  different  classes  of  Negroes.  A  quiet 
Negro  family  moves  into  a  street.  The  agent  finds  no 
great  objection,  aud  allows  the  next  empty  house  to  go  to 
any  Negro  who  applies.  This  family  may  disgrace  and 
scandalize  the  neighborhood  and  make  it  harder  for  decent 
families  to  find  homes.* 

In  the  last  fifteen  years,  however,  public  opinion  has  so 
g^atly  changed  in  this  matter  that  we  may  expect  much 
in  the  future.  To-day  the  Negro  population  is  more  widely 
scattered  over  the  city  than  ever  before.  At  the  same  time 
it  remains  true  that  as  a  rule  they  must  occupy  the  worst 
houses  of  the  districts  where  they  live.  The  advance 
made  has  been  a  battle  for  the  better  class  of  Negroes,  An 
ex-Minister  to  Hayti  moved  to  the  northwestern  part  of 
the  city  and  his  white  neighbors  iusulted  him,  barricaded 
their  steps  against  him,  and  tried  in  every  way  to  make 
him  move ;  to-day  he  is  honored  and  respected  in  the 
whole  neighborhood.     Many  such  cases  have  occurred ;  in 

•Undoubtedly  certain  classes  of  Negroes  bring  much  deserved  criti- 
cism on  themselves  by  irregular  payment  or  defauU  of  rent,  and  by  the 
poor  care  they  take  of  property.  They  must  not,  however,  be  coa- 
fonnded  with  the  better  classes  who  make  good  customers ;  this  is  again 
a  place  for  careful  discrimination. 


Sect  47.]  Color  Prejudice.  349 

others  the  result  was  diflFerent  An  estimable  young  Negro, 
just  married,  moved  with  his  bride  into  a  little  street  The 
neighborhood  rose  in  arms  and  besieged  the  tenant  and  the 
landlord  so  relentlessly  that  the  landlord  leased  the  house 
and  compelled  the  young  couple  to  move  within  a  month. 
One  of  the  bishops  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church  recently  moved 
into  the  newly  purchased  Episcopal  residence  on  Belmont 
avenue,  and  his  neighbors  have  barricaded  their  porches 
against  his  view. 

5.  The  chief  discrimination  against  Negro  children  is  in 
the  matter  of  educational  facilities.  Prejudice  here  works 
to  compel  colored  children  to  attend  certain  schools  where 
most  Negro  children  go,  or  to  keep  them  out  of  private 
and  higher  schools. 

A tried  to  get  her  little  girl  into  the  kindergarten 

nearest  to  her,  at  Fifteenth  and  Locust.  The  teachers 
wanted  her  to  send  it  down  across  Broad  to  the  kinder- 
garten chiefly  attended  by  colored  children  and  much 
further  away  from  its  home.  This  journey  was  dangerous 
for  the  child,  but  the  teachers  refused  to  receive  it  for  six 
months,  until  the  authorities  were  appealed  to. 

In  transfers  from  schools  Negroes  have  diflSlculty  in 
getting  convenient  accommodations  ;  only  within  compara- 
tively few  years  have  Negroes  been  allowed  to  complete 
the  course  at  the  High  and  Normal  Schools  without  diflSl- 
culty. Earlier  than  that  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
refused  to  let  Negroes  sit  in  the  Auditorium  and  listen  to  lec- 
tures, much  less  to  be  students.  Within  two  or  three  years 
a  Negro  student  had  to  fight  his  way  through  a  city  dental 
school  with  his  fists,  and  was  treated  with  every  indignity. 
Several  times  Negroes  have  been  asked  to  leave  schools  of 
stenography,  etc.,  on  account  of  their  fellow  students.  In 
1893  a  colored  woman  applied  at  Temple  College,  a  church 
institution,  for  admission  and  was  refused  and  advised  to 
go  elsewhere.  The  college  then  oflFered  scholarships  to 
churches,  but  would  not  admit  applicants  from  colored 


350  The   Contact  of  Ike  Races,        [Chap.  XVI. 

churches.  Two  years  later  the  same  woman  applied  again. 
The  faculty  declared  that  they  did  not  object,  but  that  the 
students  would;  she  persisted  and  was  finally  admitted 
with  evident  reluctance. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  most  private  schools,  music 
schools,  etc.,  will  not  admit  Negroes  and  in  some  cases 
have  insulted  applicants. 

Such  is  the  tangible  form  of  Negro  prejudice  in  Phila- 
delphia. Possibly  some  of  the  particulur  cases  cited  can 
be  proven  to  have  had  extenuating  circumstances  unknown 
to  the  investigator ;  at  the  same  time  many  not  cited  would 
be  just  as  much  in  point.  At  any  rate  no  one  who  has  with 
any  diligence  studied  the  situation  of  the  Negro  in  the  city 
can  long  doubt  but  that  his  opportunities  are  limited  and 
his  ambition  circumscribed  about  as  has  been  shown.  There 
are  of  course  numerous  exceptions,  but  the  mass  of  the 
Negroes  have  been  so  often  refused  openings  and  discour- 
aged in  efforts  to  better  their  condition  that  many  of  them 
say,  as  one  said,  "  I  never  apply — I  know  it  is  useless." 
Beside  these  tangible  and  measurable  forms  there  are 
deeper  and  less  easily  described  results  of  the  attitude  of 
the  white  population  toward  the  Negroes :  a  certain 
manifestation  of  a  real  or  assumed  aversion,  a  spirit  of 
ridicule  or  patronage,  a  vindictive  hatred  in  some,  absolute 
indifference  in  others  ;  all  this  of  course  does  not  make 
much  difference  to  the  mass  of  the  race,  but  it  deeply 
wounds  the  better  classes,  the  very  classes  who  are  attain- 
ing to  that  to  which  we  wish  the  mass  to  attain.  Notwith- 
standing all  this,  most  Negroes  would  patiently  await  the 
effect  of  time  and  commoiisense  on  such  prejudice  did  it 
not  to-day  touch  them  in  matters  of  life  and  death  ; 
threaten  their  homes,  their  food,  their  children,  their  hopes. 
And  the  result  of  this  is  bound  to  be  increased  crime, 
inefficiency  and  bitterness. 

It  would,  of  course,  be  idle  to  assert  that  most  of  the 
Negro  crime  was  caused  by  prejudice ;  the  violent  economic 


rSect.47-]  Color  Prejudice.  351 

and  social  changes  which  the  last  fifty  years  have  brought 
to  the  American  Negro,  the  sad  social  history  that  preceded 
these  changes,  have  all  contributed  to  unsettle  morals  and 
pervert  talents.  Nevertheless  it  is  certain  that  Negro 
prejudice  in  cities  like  Philadelphia  has  been  a  vast  factor 
in  aiding  and  abetting  all  other  causes  which  impel  a 
half-developed  race  to  recklessness  and  excess.  Certainly 
a  great  amount  of  crime  can  be  without  doubt  traced  to  the 
discrimination  against  Negro  boys  and  girls  in  the  matter 
of  employment  Or  to  put  it  diflFerentty,  Negro  prejudice 
costs  the  city  something. 

The  connection  of  crime  and  prejudice  is,  on  the  other 
hand,  neither  simple  nor  direct.  The  boy  who  is  refused 
promotion  in  his  job  as  porter  does  not  go  out  and  snatch 
somebody's  pocketbook.  Conversely  the  loafers  at  Twelfth 
^nd  Kater  streets,  and  the  thugs  in  the  county  prison  are 
not  usually  graduates  of  high  schools  who  have  been 
refused  work.  The  connections  are  much  more  subtle  and 
dangerous  ;  it  is  the  atmosphere  of  rebellion  and  discontent 
that  unrewarded  merit  and  reasonable  but  unsatisfied 
ambition  make.  The  social  environment  of  excuse,  listless 
jdespair,  careless  indulgence  and  lack  of  inspiration  to 
work  is  the  growing  force  that  turns  black  boys  and  girls 
into  gamblers,  prostitutes  and  rascals.  And  this  social 
-environment  has  been  built  up  slowly  out  of  the  dis- 
appointments of  deserving  men  and  the  sloth  of  the  un- 
awakened.  How  long  can  a  city  say  to  a  part  of  its  citizens, 
"It  is  useless  to  work ;  it  is  fruitless  to  deserve  well  of 
men  ;  education  will  gain  you  nothing  but  disappointment 
and  humiliation  ?  "  How  long  can  a  city  teach  its  black 
children  that  the  road  to  success  is  to  have  a  white  face  ? 
How  long  can  a  city  do  this  and  escape  the  inevitable 
penalty  ? 

For  thirty  years  and  more  Philadelphia  has  said  to  its 
black  children  :  "  Honesty,  efficiency  and  talent  have  little 
to  do  with  your  success ;  if  you  work  hard,  spend  little  and 


13S3  The  Contact  of  the  Races.        [Chap.  XVI- 

are  good  you  may  earn  your  bread  and  butter  at  those  sorts 
of  work  which  we  frankly  confess  we  despise  ;  if  you  are 
dishonest  and  lazy,  the  State  will  furnish  your  bread  free." 
Thus  the  class  of  Negroes  which  the  prejudices  of  the  city 
have  distinctly  encouraged  is  that  of  the  criminal,  the  lazy 
and  the  shiftless  ;  for  them  the  city  teems  with  institutions 
and  charities  ;  for  them  there  is  succor  and  sympathy ;  for 
them  Philadelphians  are  thinking  and  planning;  but  for 
the  educated  and  industrious  young  colored  man  who 
wants  work  and  not  platitudes,  wages  and  not  alms,  just 
rewards  and  not  sermons — for  such  colored  men  Philadel- 
phia apparently  has  no  use. 

What  then  do  such  men  do?  What  becomes  of  the 
graduates  of  the  many  schools  of  the  city?  The  answer 
is  simple:  most  of  those  who  amount  to  anythiug  leave 
the  city,  the  others  take  what  they  can  get  for  a  livelihood. 
Let  us  for  a  moment  glance  at  the  statistics  of  three  colored 
schools : ' 

1.  The  O.  V.  Catto  Primary  School. 

2.  The  Robert  Vaux  Grammar  School. 
3-  The  Institute  for  Colored  Youth. 

There  attended  the  Catto  school,  1867-97,  59''5  pupi's. 
Of  these  there  were  promoted  from  the  full  course,  653. 
129  of  the  latter  are  known  to  be  in  positions  of  higher 
grade ;  or  taking  out  93  who  are  still  in  school,  there 
remain  36  as  follows:  18  teachers,  10  clerks,  2  physicians, 
2  engravers,  2  printers,  i  lawyer  and  i  mechanic. 

The  other  524  are  for  the  most  part  in  service,  laborers 
and  housewives.  Of  the  36  more  successful  ones  fully  half 
are  at  work  outside  of  the  city. 

Of  the  Vaux  school  there  were,  1877-89,  76  graduates. 
Of  these  there  are  16  unaccounted  for ;  the  rest  are : 

Teachers 37       Barbers 4 

Musicians 5      Clerks 3 

Merchants 3       Physician I 


*  Kindly  fumished  by  the  principals  of  these  schools. 


Sect  47']  Color  Prejudice,  353 

Mechanic i      Deceased 8 

Clergymen 3      Housewives 5 

47 

From  one-half  to  two-thirds  of  these  have  been  compelled 
to  leave  the  city  in  order  to  find  work  ;  one,  the  artist, 
Tanner,  whom  France  recently  honored,  could  not  in  his 
native  land  much  less  in  his  native  city  find  room  for  his 
talents.  He  taught  school  in  Georgia  in  order  to  earn 
money  enough  to  go  abroad. 

The  Institute  of  Colored  Youth  has  had  340  graduates, 
1856-97  ;  57  of  these  are  dead.  Of  the  283  remaining  91 
are  unaccounted  for.     The  rest  are  : 

Teachers 117  Electrical  Engineer    .   .  i 

Lawyers 4      Professor i 

Physicians 4  Government  clerks  ...  5 

Musicians 4      Merchants 7 

Dentists 2      Mechanics 5 

Clergymen 2      Clerks 23 

Nurses 2  Teacher  of  cooking    .   .  i 

Editor I      Dressmakers 4 

Civil  Engineer i      Students 7 

192 

Here,  again,  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  graduates  who 
have  amounted  to  anything  have  had  to  leave  the  city  for 
work.  The  civil  engineer,  for  instance,  tried  in  vain  to 
get  work  here  and  finally  had  to  go  to  New  Jersey  to  teach. 

There  have  been  9,  possibly  11,  colored  graduates  of  the 
Central  High  School.     These  are  engaged  as  follows : 

Grocer i      Porter i 

Clerks  in  service  of  city  .    2      Butler z 

Caterer i      Unknown 3  of  5 

It  is  high  time  that  the  best  conscience  of  Philadelphia 
awakened  to  her  duty  ;  her  Negro  citizens  are  here  to 
remain  ;  they  can  be  made  good  citizens  or  burdens  to  the 
community  ;  if  we  want  them  to  be  sources  of  wealth  and 
power  and  not  of  poverty  and  weakness  then  they  must  be 

23 


354  '^^^  Contact  of  the  Races.        [Chap.  XVI. 

given  eraploymetit  according  to  their  ability  and  encour- 
aged to  train  that  ability  and  increase  their  talents  by  the 
hope  of  reasonable  reward.  To  educate  boys  and  girls  and 
then  refuse  thera  work  is  to  train  loafers  and  rogues." 

From  another  point  of  view  it  could  be  argued  with 
much  cogency  that  the  cause  of  economic  stress,  and  conse- 
quently of  crime,  was  the  recent  inconsiderate  rush  of 
Negroes  into  cities  ;  and  that  the  unpleasant  results  of  this 
migration,  while  deplorable,  will  nevertheless  serve  to 
check  the  movement  of  Negroes  to  cities  and  keep  them  in 
the  country  where  their  chance  for  economic  development  is 
widest.  This  argument  loses  much  of  its  point  from  the 
fact  that  it  is  the  better  class  of  educated  Piiiladelphia- 
born  Negroes  who  have  the  most  difficulty  in  obtaining 
employment.  The  new  immigrant  fresh  from  the  South  is 
much  more  apt  to  obtain  work  suitable  for  hira  than  the 
black  boy  born  here  and  trained  in  efficiency.  Neverthe- 
less it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  recent  migration  has 
both  directly  and  indirectly  increased  crime  and  competi- 
tion. How  is  this  movement  to  be  checked  ?  Much  can 
be  done  by  correctiug  misrepresentations  as  to  the  oppor- 
tunities of  city  life  made  by  designing  employment 
bureaus  and  thoughtless  persons  ;  a  more  strict  surveillance 
of  criminals  might  prevent  the  influx  of  undesirable 
elements.  Such  efforts,  however,  would  not  touch  the 
main  stream  of  immigration.  Back  of  that  stream  is  the 
world-wide  desire  to  rise  in  the  world,  to  escape  the 
choking  narrowness  of  the  plantation,  and  the  lawless 
repression  of  the  village,  in  the  South.  It  is  a  search  for 
better  opportunities  of  living,  and  as  such  it  must  be  dis- 
couraged and  repressed  with  great  care  and  delicacy,  if  at 
all.  The  real  movement  of  reform  is  the  raising  of 
economic  standards  and  increase  of  economic  opportunity 
in  the  South.     Mere  land  and  climate  without  law  and 

*  Cf.  on  thia  point  tlie  interestiDg  article  of  John  Stevens  Dnrhaia  in 
the  Atlantic  Monthly,  1898. 


Sect  48.]  Benevolence.  355 

order,  capital  and  skill,  will  not  develop  a  country.  When 
Negroes  in  the  South  have  a  larger  opportunity  to  work, 
accumulate  property,  be  protected  in  life  and  limb,  and 
encourage  pride  and  self-respect  in  their  children,  there 
will  be  a  diminution  in  the  stream  of  immigrants  to 
Northern  cities.  At  the  same  time  if  those  cities  practice 
industrial  exclusion  against  these  immigrants  to  such  an 
extent  that  they  are  forced  to  become  paupers,  loafers  and 
criminals,  they  can  scarcely  complain  of  conditions  in  the 
South.  Northern  cities  should  not,  of  course,  seek  to 
encourage  and  invite  a  poor  quality  of  labor,  with  low 
standards  of  life  and  morals.  The  standards  of  wages  and 
respectability  should  be  kept  up ;  but  when  a  man  reaches 
those  standards  in  skill,  efficiency  and  decency  no  question 
of  color  should,  in  a  civilized  community,  debar  him  from 
an  equal  chance  with  his  peers  in  earning  a  living. 

48.  Benevolence." — In  the  attitude  of  Philadelphia 
toward  the  Negro  may  be  traced  the  same  contradictions 
so  often  apparent  in  social  phenomena;  prejudice  and 
apparent  dislike  conjoined  with  widespread  and  deep 
sympathy;  there  can,  for  instance,  be  no  doubt  of  the 
sincerity  of  the  eflForts  put  forth  by  Philadelphians  to  help 
the  Negroes.  Much  of  it  is  unsystematic  and  ill-directed 
and  yet  it  has  behind  it  a  broad  charity  and  a  desire  to 
relieve  suffering  and  distress.  The  same  Philadelphian 
who  would  not  let  a  Negro  work  in  his  store  or  mill,  will 
contribute  handsomely  to  relieve  Negroes  in  poverty  and 
distress.  There  are  in  the  city  the  following  charities 
exclusively  designed  for  Negroes  : 

Home  for  Aged  and  Infirm  Colored  Persons,  Belmont 
and  Girard  avenues. ^^ 


"  No  attempt  has  been  made  here  to  make  any  intenaiye  study  of  the 
efforts  to  help  Negroes,  which  are  widespread  and  commendable;  they 
need,  however,  a  study  which  would  extend  the  scope  of  this  inquiry 
too  far. 

X  Founded,  and  supported  in  part,  by  Negroea     Cf.  Chap.  XIL 


356  The  Contact  of  the  Races.         [Cbap.  XVI. 

Home  for  Destitute  Colored  Children,  Berks  street  aud 
Old  Lancaster  road. 

St,  Mary  Day  Nursery,  1627  Lombard  street. 

The  Association  for  the  Care  of  Colored  Orphans,  Forty- 
fourth  and  Wallace  streets. 

Frederick  Douglass  Memorial  Hospital  and  Training 
School,  151a  Lombard  street." 

Magdalen  Convent  House  of  the  Good  Shepherd  (Roman 
Catholic),  Penii  and  Chew  streets,  Germantown. 

St.  Mary's  Mission  for  Colored  People,  1623-29  Lombard 
street. 

Raspberry  Street  School,  229  Raspberry  street. 

The  Star  Kitchen,  and  allied  enterprises,  Seventh  and 
Lombard  streets. 

Colored  Industrial  School,  Twentieth  street,  below 
Walnut. 

Sisters  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  for  Indians  and  Colored 
People,  Cornwell's  Station,  Pa. 

Men's  Guild  House,  1628  Lombard  street. 

House  of  St.  Michael  and  All  Angels,  613  North  Forty- 
third  street. 

The  Industrial  Exchange  Training  School  and  Dormi- 
tory, 756  South  Twelfth  street.'* 

Fifty-nine  of  the  charities  mentioned  in  the  Civic  Club 
Digest  discriminate  against  colored  persons.  Fifty-one 
societies  profess  to  make  no  discrimination  ;  in  the  case  of 
the  larger  and  better  known  societies  this  is  true,  as,  for 
instance,  the  Home  Missionary  Society,  the  Union  Benevo- 
lent .Association,  the  Protestant  Episcopal  City  Mission, 
the  Charity  Organization  Society,  the  Childreu's  Aid 
Society,  the  Society  to  Prevent  Cruelty  to  Children,  etc. 
Others,  however,  exercise  a  silent  policy  against  Negroes, 
The  Country  Week  Association,  for  instance,  would  rather 
Negroes  should  not  apply,  although  it  sends  a  few  away 


'  Fouiided,  and  supported  in  part,  by  Negroes.     Cf.  Chap.  XII. 


A 


<f  fC  II 

41  CI 

II  IC 


Sect.  48.]  Benevolence.  357 

each  summer.  Colored  applicants  at  the  building  of  the 
Young  Woman's  Christian  Association  are  not  very 
welcome.  So  with  many  other  societies  and  institutions. 
This  veiled  discrimination  is  very  unjust,  for  it  makes  it 
seem  as  though  the  Negro  had  more  help  than  he  does. 
On  the  other  hand  between  donors,  prejudiced  persons, 
friends  of  the  Negro,  and  the  beneficiaries,  the  managers  of 
many  of  these  enterprises  find  it  by  far  the  easiest  method 
silently  to  draw  the  color  line. 

Fifty-seven  other  charities  make  no  explicit  statement  as 
to  whether  they  discriminate  or  not     To  sum  up  then : 

Charitable  agencies  exclusively  for  Negroes 14 

•*  Whites 59 

which  profess  not  to  discriminate, 

but  in  some  cases  do 51 

which  make  no  statements,  but  usu- 
ally discriminate 57 

181 

On  the  whole  it  is  fair  to  say  that  about  one  half  of 
the  charities  of  Philadelphia,  so  far  as  mere  numbers 
are  concerned,  are  open  to  Negroes.  In  the  different 
kinds  of  charity,  however,  some  disproportion  is  notice- 
able. Of  direct  almsgiving,  the  most  questionable  and 
least  organized  sort  of  charity,  the  Negroes  receive 
probably  far  more  than  their  just  proportion,  as  a  study 
of  the  work  of  the  great  distributing  societies  clearly 
shows.  On  the  other  hand,  protective,  rescue  and  reforma- 
tory work  is  not  applied  to  any  great  extent  among  them. 
Consequently,  while  actual  poverty  and  distress  among 
Negroes  is  quickly  relieved,  there  are  only  a  few  agencies 
to  prevent  the  better  classes  from  sinking  or  to  reclaim 
the  fallen  or  to  protect  the  helpless  and  the  children. 
Even  the  agencies  of  this  sort  open  to  the  Negroes  are  not 
always  taken  advantage  of,  partly  through  ignorance  and 
carelessness,  partly  because  they  fear  discrimination  or  be- 
cause they  are  apt  to  be  treated  the  same  whether  they  be 
from  Addison  street  or  Middle  alley. 


r 


358  The  Contact  of  the  Races.        [Chap.  XVI. 

Much  of  the  benevolence  of  the  whites  has  been  checked 
because  the  classes  on  whom  it  has  been  showered  have 
not  appreciated  it,  and  because  there  has  been  no  careful 
attempt  to  discriminate  between  different  sorts  of  Negroes. 
After  all,  the  need  of  the  Negro,  as  of  so  many  unfortunate 
classes,  is  "  not  alms  but  a  friend." 

There  are  a  few  homes,  asylums,  nurseries,  hospitals  and 
the  like  for  work  among  Negroes,  which  are  doing  excel- 
lent work  and  deserve  commendation.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  this  sort  of  work  will  receive  needed  encouragement 

49.  The  Intermarriage  of  the  Races. — For  years  much 
has  been  said  on  the  destiny  of  the  Negro  with  regard  to 
intennarriage  with  the  whites.  To  many  this  seems  the 
difficulty  that  differentiates  the  Negro  question  from  all 
other  social  questions  which  we  face,  and  makes  it  seem- 
ingly insoluble ;  the  questions  of  ignorance,  crime  and 
immorality,  these  argue,  may  safely  be  left  to  the  influence 
of  time  and  education  ;  but  will  time  and  training  ever 
change  the  obvious  fact  that  the  white  people  of  the 
country  do  not  wish  to  mingle  socially  with  the  Negroes 
or  to  join  blood  in  legal  wedlock  with  them  ?  This  prob- 
lem is,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  difficult.  Its  difficulty 
arises,  however,  rather  from  an  ignorance  of  surrounding 
facts  than  from  the  theoretic  argument.  Theory  in  such 
case  is  of  little  value ;  the  white  people  as  members  of  the 
races  now  dominant  in  the  world  naturally  boast  of  their 
blood  and  accomplishments,  and  recoil  from  an  alliance 
with  a  people  which  is  to-day  represented  by  a  host  of 
untrained  and  uncouth  ex-slaves.  On  the  other  hand, 
whatever  his  practice  be,  the  Negro  as  a  free  American 
citizen  must  just  as  strenuously  maintain  that  marriage  is 
a  private  contract,  and  that  given  two  persons  of  proper 
age  and  economic  ability  who  agree  to  enter  into  that 
relation,  it  does  not  concern  any  one  but  themselves  as  to 
whether  one  of  them  be  white,  black  or  red.  It  is  thus 
that  theoretical  argument  comes  to  an  unpleasant  stand- 


Sect  49']       ^^  Intermarriage  of  the  Races.  359 

still,  and  its  further  pursuit  really  settles  nothing,  nay, 
rather  unsettles  much,  by  bringing  men's  thoughts  to  a 
question  that  is,  at  present  at  least,  of  little  practical  impor- 
tance. For  in  practice  the  matter  works  itself  out :  the 
average  white  person  does  not  marry  a  Negro ;  and  the 
average  Negro,  despite  his  theory,  himself  marries  one  of 
his  race,  and  frowns  darkly  on  his  fellows  unless  they  do 
likewise.  In  those  very  circles  of  Negroes  who  have  a 
large  infusion  of  white  blood,  where  the  freedom  of  mar- 
riage is  most  strenuously  advocated,  white  wives  have 
always  been  treated  with  a  disdain  bordering  on  insult, 
and  white  husbands  never  received  on  any  terms  of  social 
recognition. 

Notwithstanding  theory  and  the  practice  of  whites  and 
Negroes  in  general,  it  is  nevertheless  manifest  that  the 
white  and  black  races  have  mingled  their  blood  in  this 
country  to  a  vast  extent.  Such  facts  puzzle  the  foreigner 
and  are  destined  to  puzzle  the  future  historian.  A  serious 
student  of  the  subject  gravely  declares  in  one  chapter  that 
the  races  are  separate  and  distinct  and  becoming  more  so, 
and  in  another  that  by  reason  of  the  intermingling  of 
white  blood  the  "  original  type  of  the  African  has  almost 
completely  disappeared ; "  "  here  we  have  reflected  the 
prevailing  confusion  in  the  popular  mind.  Race  amalga- 
mation is  a  fact,  not  a  theory;  it  took  place,  however, 
largely  under  the  institution  of  slavery  and  for  the  most 
part,  though  not  wholly,  outside  the  bonds  of  legal 
marriage.!  With  the  abolition  of  slavery  now,  and  the 
establishment  of  a  self-protecting  Negro  home  the  question 
is,  what  have  been  the  tendencies  and  the  actual  facts  with 
regard  to  the  intermarriage  of  races?  This  is  the  only 
question  with  which  students  have  to  do,  and  this  singu- 
larly enough  has  been  the  one  which  they,  with  curious 
unanimity,  have  neglected.     We  do  not  know  the  facts 


'* Hoffman's  "Race  Traits  and  Tendencies/*  etc.,  pp.  i  and  177. 


360  Tkc  CotUact  0/  Ihe  Races.       [Chnp.  XVI. 

with  regard  to  the  mingling  of  white  and  black  blood  in 
the  past  save  in  a  most  general  and  unsatisfactory  way ; 
we  do  not  know  the  facts  for  to-day  at  all.  And  yet,  of 
course,  without  this  knowledge  all  philosophy  of  the 
situation  is  vain  ;  only  long  observation  of  the  course  of 
intermarriage  can  furnish  us  that  broad  knowledge  of  facts 
which  can  serve  as  a  basis  for  race  theories  and  final  con- 
clusions." 

The  first  legal  obstacle  to  the  intermarriage  of  whites 
and  blacks  in  Pennsylvania  was  the  Act  of  1726,  which 
forbade  such  unions  in  terms  that  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  a  few  such  marriages  had  taken  place.  Mulattoes  early 
appeared  in  the  State,  and  especially  in  Philadelphia,  some 
being  from  the  South  and  some  from  up  the  State,  Sailors 
from  this  port  in  some  cases  brought  back  English,  Scotch 
and  Irish  wives,  and  mixed  families  immigrated  here  at  the 
time  of  the  Haytian  revolt.  Between  1820  and  i860  many 
natural  children  were  sent  from  the  South  and  in  a  few 
cases  their  parents  followed  and  were  legally  married  here. 
Descendants  of  such  children  in  many  cases  forsook  the 
mother's  race  ;  one  became  principal  of  a  city  school,  one 
a  prominent  sister  in  a  Catholic  church,  one  a  bishop,  and 
one  or  two  officers  in  the  Confederate  army."  Some  mar- 
riages with  Quakers  took  place,  one  especially  in  1835, 
when  a  Quakeress  married  a  Negro,  created  much  com- 
ment. Descendants  of  this  couple  still  survive.  Since 
the  War  the  number  of  local  marriages  has  considerably 
increased.  ^ 

In  this  work  there  was  originally  no  intention  of  treating 
the  subject  of  intermarriage,  for  it  was  thought  that  the  data 
would    be   too   insignificant  to  be   enlightening.     When, 


'■HofimaD  bas  the  results  of  some  intermarriages  recorded,  lint  tbey 
are  chiefly  reports  of  criminals  in  tlie  newspapers,  and  thus  maaifestly 
unfair  for  generalization. 

"  From  a  personal  letter  of  a  life-long  Philadelpliian,  whose  name  I  am 
not  St  liberty  to  quote. 


Sect.  49.]       The  Intermarriage  of  the  Races, 


361 


however,  in  one  ward  of  the  city  thirty-three  cases  of 
mixed  marriages  were  found,  and  it  was  known  that  there 
were  others  in  that  ward,  and  probably  a  similar  proportion 
in  many  other  wards,  it  was  thought  that  a  study  of  these 
thirty-three  families  might  be  of  interest  and  be  a  small 
contribution  of  fact  to  a  subject  where  facts  are  not  easily 
accessible. 

The  size  of  these  families  varies,  of  course,  with  the 
question  as  to  what  one  considers  a  family ;  if  we  take  the 
"  census  family,"  or  all  those  living  together  under  circum- 
stances of  family  life  in  one  home,  the  average  size  of  the 
thirty-three  families  of  the  Seventh  Ward  in  which  there 
were  intermarried  whites  was  3.5.  If  we  take  simply  the 
father,  mother  and  children,  the  average  size  was  2.9. 
There  were  ninety-^even  parents  and  children  in  these 
families,  and  twenty  other  relatives  living  with  them, 
making  117  individuals  in  the  families.  Tabulated  they 
are  as  follows : 


Number  of 
Fenotis  in  the 

Number  of  Persons  in  the  Census  Family. 

Total 

Renl 

PamiUes. 

Total  Indi- 
viduals in 

Real  Pamily. 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

13 

Real 
Pamily. 

Two  .... 
Three  .   .   . 
Four    .   .   . 

II 

• 

4 
5 

I 

• 

6 

I 

•  •       • 

•  a 

2 

•  •        • 

.   .   • 

•   • 

I 

I 

I 

■       • 

•       •      • 
•        a 

17 
6 

6 

3 

I 

34 
18 

24 

15 
6 

Five .... 

Six   . 

•        •        a 

•      • 

•      •       • 

Total  Censua 
Families. 

II 

9 

7 
28 

3 

3 

I 

33 

97 

Total  Individ- 
uals in  Census 
Family. 

32 

27 

15 

12 

13 

"7 
Individuals  in 
Census  Pamily. 

Of  the  intermarried  whites  there  are  four  husbands  and 
twenty-nine  wives.  Let  us  first  consider  the  families 
having  the  four  white  husbands : 


362 


The  Contact  of  the  Races.      [Chap.  XVI. 


Four  Whits  Husbands. 


No.  I. 

No.  a. 

No.  3. 

No.  4. 

Age 

48 

52 

31 

32 

Birthplace    .   . 
No.  ot  years  res- 

Philadelphia. 

Georgia. 

Cuba? 

? 

ident  in  Phil- 

adelphia  .  . 
R  e  a  a 8      and 

48 

7 

? 

12 

Writes? 

Reads. 

Yes. 

Yes. 

Yes. 

Occupation  .   . 

Street  car  dri- 
ver, laborer. 

Motorman  on 
electric  cars. 

Tobacconist 

Painter. 

No.  of  Children 

b^  this  Mar- 

riage .... 

4 

0 

0 

0 

Social  grade  .  . 

Third. 

Second. 

Fourth. 

? 

Thbir  Four  Nbgro  Wivks. 


No.  I. 

No.  a. 

No.  3. 

No.  4* 

Age 

38 

29 

30 

28 

Birthplace    .   . 

Maryland, 

Georgia. 

? 

Virginia. 

Years  resident 

in    Philadel- 

phia   .... 

25 

7 

? 

IZ 

Reads     and 

Writes   .   .    .  No. 

Reads. 

Yes. 

Yes. 

Occupation  .   .  Housewife  and 

Housewife. 

Housewife. 

Cook. 

day  *s- work. 

Children  by  this 

Marriage  .   . 

4 

0 

0 

0 

Social  grade     . 

Third. 

Second. 

Fourth. 

? 

The  third  family  may  be  simply  a  case  of  cohabitation, 
and  not  enough  is  known  of  the  fourth  to  make  any  judg- 
ment. The  second  family  lives  in  a  comfortable  home  and 
appears  contented.  The  first  family  is  poor  and  the  man 
lazy  and  good-natured. 

The  twenty-nine  white  wives  were  of  the  following  ages : 


15  to  19 I 

20  to  24 7 

25  to  29 8 

30  to  39 8 


40  to  49 3 

50  and  over i 

Unknown t 


Total 


29 


Sect  49.]      The  Intermarriage  of  the  Races. 


363 


They  were  bom  as  follows : 

Philadelphia 6 

Ireland 6 

England 3 

Scotland 2 

New  York 2 

Germany    ......  2 

Canada    i 


Hungary 
Virginia  . 
Maryland 
Delaware 
Unknown 


I 
I 
I 
I 

3 


Total 29 


By  rearranging  this  table  we  have  for  the  known  cases  : 

Bom  in  Philadelphia 6 

•'      "  the  United  States 11 

••      •'    **  North 8 

"      "    '*  South 3 

**  foreign  lands 15 


If 


Those  not  born  in  Philadelphia  have  resided  there  as 
follows : 

Less  than  i  year x 

One  to  three  years i 

Five  to  ten  years 3 

Over  ten  years 8 

Unknown 10 


Bom  in  Philadelphia 


23 
6 


These  wives  are  occupied  as  follows : 


29 


Housewives 18 

"           and  day's-work • 3 

Waitresses 2 

No  occupation  or  unknown 3 

Cook I 

Merchant x 

Service x 


29 


Only  one  of  these  women  was  reported  as  illiterate,  and 
in  the  case  of  three  no  return  was  made  as  to  illiteracy. 

Fourteen  of  these  wives  had  no  children  by  this  mar- 
riage ;  6  had  i  child,  6  had  2  children,  3  had  3  children ; 


364 


TTie  Contact  of  the  Races.      [Chap.  XVI. 


making  27  children  in  all.  Of  the  14  having  no  children 
5  were  women  under  twenty-five  recently  married  ;  2  were 
women  over  forty  and  probably  past  child-bearing.  Several 
of  the  remaining  7  were,  in  all  probability,  lewd. 

Of  the  colored  husbands  of  these  white  wives  we  have 
the  following  statistics : 


Age^To  to  24 2 

25  to  29 5 

30  to  39 12 

40  to  49 7 

^sWA//a^^— Philadelphia  ...  5 

Maryland    ....  5 

Virginia 5 

District  of  Columbia    3 

Delaware 2 

Kentucky    ....  i 

New  Jersey  ....  i 

Texas i 


50  and  over i 

Unknown 2 

Total     29 

North  Carolina  ....  i 

Massachusetts     ....  i 

Alabama i 

New  York i 

Unknown  2 

Total 29 


Bom  in  Philadelphia 5 

"     *'  North 8 

•*  South 19 


if 


IlliUracy—QAn  read  and  write 23 

Illiterate 4 

Unknown 2 

Total 29 


Ouupations — 

Waiter 9 

Porter 3 

Barber 2 

Steward 2 

Cook 2 

Restaurant  Keeper    .   .  2 

Helper  and  Engineer   .  i 


Baker  and  Merchant .   . 
Stationary  Engineer  .    . 

Laborer 

Stevedore 

Caterer 

Messenger 

Bootblack 

Unknown     


Total 29 


The  social  grade  of  thirty-two  of  these  families  is  thought 
to^be  as  follows : 

First  grade,  four  families.     These  all  live  well  and  are 


Sect.  49.]       The  Intermarriage  of  the  Races. 


365 


comfortable  ;  the  wife  stays  at  home  and  the  children 
at  school.  Everything  indicates  comfort  and  content- 
ment. 

Second  grade,  fifteen  families.  These  are  ordinary  work- 
ing-class families  ;  the  wife  in  some  cases  helps  as  a  bread 
winner ;  none  of  them  are  in  poverty,  many  are  young 
couples  just  starting  in  married  life.  All  are  decent  and 
respectable. 

Third  grade,  six  families.  These  are  poor  families  of 
low  grade,  but  not  immoral;  some  are  lazy,  some  unfor- 
tunate. 

Fourth  grade,  seven  families.  Many  of  these  are  cases 
of  permanent  cohabitation  and  the  women  for  the  most 
part  are  or  were  prostitutes.  They  live  in  the  slums  mostly, 
and  in  some  cases  have  lived  together  many  years.  None 
of  them  have  children,  or  at  least  have  none  living  with 
them  at  present 

Let  us  now  glance  a  moment  at  the  31  children  of 
these  mixed  marriages :  27  bom  of  white  mothers  by 
Negro  husbands,  and  4  of  Negro  mothers  by  white 
husbands: 


Age. 


Under  i  year 
1-2 

3-5 

6-10    .   .   .   . 

11-15  .  .  .  . 
16-19  •  •  •  . 
30-29  .   .   .    . 


Total 


Male. 


O 

2 

4 
3 

3 

2 

2 


16 


Female. 


3 
3 
3 
5 
I 


15 


Totel. 


3 

5 

7 
8 

4 

2 

2 


31 


Of  school  age,  5-20 14 

Number  in  school 12 

Number  over  10  who  are  illiterate o 

At  work,  I,  as  porter. 

The  homes  occupied  by  these   families  and  the  rents 
paid  monthly  are  : 


r 


3M 


The  Omtacl  of  the  Races.        [Chap.  XVI. 


NnnlKTafRtomL 

SiSS? 

»&-».. 

(11-15. 

#j6-«>. 

OVCT(«l 

Total 
Funllica. 

I  (tenant) 

I  (lodging) 

3 

S 

3 

4 

4 

3 

- 

3 

4 

3 

9 

4 

5o„.o„:::::: 

6 
3 

Total 

5 

7 

13 

I 

7 

33 

One  Tamilj  owns  real  estate  (building  lots). 

One  family  beloags  to  a  building  and  loan  association. 

The  data  here  presented  constitute  too  narrow  a  basis  for 
many  general  conclusions  even  for  a  single  city.  Of  the  2441 
families  in  the  ward  these  families  represent  1.35  per  cent. 
There  are  two  or  more  other  cases  in  the  Seventh  Ward 
not  catalogued.  If  this  percentage  holds  good  in  the 
remaining  parts  of  the  city  there  would  be  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  such  marriages  in  the  city;  there  are  no 
data  on  this  point. 

It  is  often  said  that  only  the  worst  Negroes  and  lowest 
whites  intermarry.  This  is  certainly  untrue  in  Philadel- 
phia; to  be  sure  among  the  lowest  classes  there  is  a  large 
number  of  temporary  unions  and  much  cohabitation.  In 
the  case  of  the  Seventh  Ward  several  of  such  cases  were 
not  noticed  at  all  in  the  above  record  as  they  savor  more  of 
prostitution  than  of  marriage.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  an 
error  certainly  in  this  ward  to  regard  marriages  of  this  sort 
as  confined  principally  to  the  lower  classes  ;  oa  the  con- 
trary they  take  place  most  frequently  in  the  laboring 
classes,  and  especially  among  servants,  where  there  is  the 
most  contact  between  the  races.  Among  the  best  class  of 
Negroes  and  whites  such  marriages  seldom  occur  although 
one  notable  case  occurred  in  1897  in  Philadelphia,  where 
there  could  be  no  question  of  the  good  social  standing  of 
the  parties. 


Sect.  49.]      The  Intermarriage  of  the  Races,  367 

As  to  the  tendencies  of  the  present,  and  the  general 
result  of  such  marriages  there  are  no  reliable  data.  That 
more  separations  occur  in  such  marriages  than  in  others  is 
very  probable.  It  is  certainly  a  strain  on  affections  to 
have  to  endure  not  simply  the  social  ostracism  of  the  whites 
but  of  the  blacks  also.  Undoubtedly  this  latter  acts  as  a 
more  practical  deterrent  than  the  first.  For,  while  a 
Negro  expects  to  be  ostracized  by  the  whites,  and  his 
white  wife  agrees  to  it  by  her  marriage  vow,  neither  of 
them  are  quite  prepared  for  the  cold  reception  they  invari- 
ably meet  with  among  the  Negroes.  This  is  the  con- 
sideration that  makes  the  sacrifice  in  such  marriages 
great,  and  makes  it  perfectly  proper  to  give  the  aphoristic 
marriage  advice  of  Punch  to  those  contemplating  such 
alliances.  Nevertheless  one  must  candidly  acknowledge 
that  there  are  respectable  people  who  are  thus  married  and 
are  apparently  contented  and  as  happy  as  the  average  of 
mankind.  It  is  diflScult  to  see  whose  concern  their  choice 
is  but  their  own,  or  why  the  world  should  see  fit  to  insult 
or  slander  them. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

NEGRO   SUFFRAGE. 

50.  The  Significance  of  the  Experiment — The  indis- 
criminate granting  of  tmiversal  suffrage  to  freedraen  and 
foreigners  was  one  of  the  most  daring  experiments  of  a  too 
venturesome  nation.  In  the  case  of  the  Negro  its  only 
justification  was  that  the  ballot  might  serve  as  a  weapon  of 
defence  for  helpless  ex-slaves,  and  would  at  one  stroke 
enfranchise  those  Negroes  whose  education  and  standing 
entitled  them  to  a  voice  in  the  government.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  but  that  the  wisest  provision  would  have  been  an 
educational  and  property  qualification  impartially  enforced 
against  ex-slaves  and  immigrants.  In  the  absence  of  such 
a  provision  it  was  certainly  more  just  to  admit  the 
untrained  and  ignorant  than  to  bar  out  all  Negroes  in  spite 
of  their  qualifications  ;  more  just,  but  also  more  dangerous. 

Those  who  from  time  to  time  have  discussed  the  results 
of  this  experiment  have  usually  looked  for  their  facts  in 
the  wrong  place,  /.  e.,  in  the  South.  Under  the  peculiar 
conditions  still  prevailing  in  the  South  no  fair  trial  of  the 
Negro  voter  could  have  been  made.  The  "carpet-bag" 
governments  of  reconstruction  time  were  in  no  true  sense 
the  creatures  of  Negro  voters,  nor  is  there  to.j3ay  a  Southern 
State  where  free  untrammeled  Negro  suffrage  prevails.  It 
is  then  to  Northern  communities  that  one  must  turn  to 
study  the  Negro  as  a  voter,  and  the  result  of  the  experi- 
ment in  Pennsylvania  while  not  decisive  is  certainly 
instructive. 

51.  The  History  of  Negro  Suffrage  in  Pennsylvania. — 
The  laws  for  Pennsylvania  agreed  upon  in  England  in 
i68a  declared  as  qualified  electors  "  every  inhabitant  in  the 
said  province,  that    is   or   shall    be   a    purchaser   of  one 

(368) 


Sect.  51.]       Negro  Suffrage  in  Pennsylvania.  369 

hundred  acres  of  land  or  upwards,  ....  and  every  person 
that  hath  been  a  servant  or  bondsman,  and  is  free  by  his 
service,  that  shall  have  taken  up  his  fifty  acres  of  land, 
and  cultivated  twenty  thereof;"  and  also  some  other 
taxpayers.* 

These  provisions  were  in  keeping  with  the  design  of 
partially  freeing  Negroes  after  fourteen  years  service  and 
contemplated  without  doubt  black  electors,  at  least  in 
theory.  It  is  doubtful  if  many  Negroes  voted  under  this 
provision  although  that  is  possible.  In  the  call  for  tlie 
Convention  of  1776  no  restriction  as  to  color  was  men- 
tioned,* and  the  constitution  of  that  year  gave  the  right 
of  sufirage  to  "  every  freeman  of  the  full  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  having  resided  in  this  State  for  the  space  of  one 
whole  year."*  Probably  some  Negro  electors  in  Penn- 
sylvania helped  choose  the  framers  of  the  Constitu- 
tion. 

In  the  Convention  of  1790  no  restriction  as  to  color  was 
adopted  and  the  sufirage  article  as  finally  decided  upon 
read  as  follows  : 

**  Article  III,  Section  i.  In  elections  by  the  citizens, 
every  freeman  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  having 
resided  in  the  State  two  years  next  before  the  election,  and 
within  that  time  paid  a  State  or  county  tax,  which  shall 
have  been  assessed  at  least  six  months  before  the  election^ 
shall  enjoy  the  rights  of  an  elector."  * 

Nothing  in  the  printed  minutes  of  the  convention  indi- 
cates any  attempt  in  the  convention  to  prohibit  Negro 
suffirage,  but  Mr.  Albert  Gallatin  declared  in  1837:  **I 
have  a  lively  recollection  that  in  some  stages  of  the  discus- 
sion the  proposition  pending  before  the  convention  limited 


^  *'  Minutes  of  the  Conventions  of  1776  and  1790/'  (Bd.  1825)  pp.  32-33; 
Of.  p.  26. 
« Ihid,^  pp.  38-39. 
>  Ibid,,  p.  57. 
*  Ibid,,  p.  300.    Of.  ''  Pnrdon's  Digest,"  sixth  edition. 

24 


r 


370  Negro  Suffrage.  [Chap,  XVIL 

the  right  of  suffrage  to  '  free  white  citizens,'  eta,  and  that 
the  word  white  was  struck  out  on  my  motion." ' 

It  was  alleged  afterward  that  in  1795  the  question  came 
before  the  High  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals  and  that  its 
decision  denied  the  right  to  Negroes.  No  written  decision 
of  this  sort  was  ever  found,  however,  and  it  is  certain  that 
for  nearly  a  half  century  free  Negroes  voted  in  parts  of 
Pennsylvania,* 

As  the  Negro  population  increased,  however,  and  ignor- 
ant and  dangerous  elements  entered,  and  as  the  slavery 
controversy  grew  warmer,  the  feeling  against  Negroes 
increased  and  with  it  opposition  to  their  right  to  vote.  In 
July,  1837,  the  Supreme  Court  sitting  at  Sunbury  took  up 
the  celebrated  case  of  Hobbs  et  al.  against  Fogg.  Fogg 
was  a  free  Negro  and  taxpayer,  and  had  been  deuied  the 
right  to  vote  by  Hobbs  and  others,  the  judges  and  inspec- 
tors of  election  in  Luzerne  County.  He  brought  action  and 
was  sustained  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  but  the 
Supreme  Court  under  Judge  Gibson  reversed  this  judgment. 
The  decision  rendered  was  an  evident  straining  of  law  and 
sense.  The  judge  sought  to  refer  to  the  decision  of  1795, 
but  could  cite  no  written  record  ;  he  explained  the  striking 
out  of  the  word  "  white  "  in  the  constitutional  convention 
as  done  to  prevent  insult  to  "dark  colored  white  men," 
and  held  that  a  Negro,  though  free,  could  never  be  a 
freeman.' 

All  doubt  was  finally  removed  by  the  reform  constitu- 
tional convention  of  1837-38,  The  article  on  suflrage 
as  reported  to  the  convention  May  17,  1837,  was  practi- 
cally the   same    as   in    the  Constitution  of   1790."     This 

•  "  Proceedings  and  Debates  of  the  Convention  of  1837,"  X,  45.  Cf, 
Purvis  in  "Appeal  of  40,000  Citizens."  The  printed  minutes  give  only 
the  main  results  with  few  details. 

'  6  Watts,  553-560,  "Pennsylvania  Reports."  "Proceedings,  etc., 
Coarention  1837-S,  TI,  476. 

'  6  Watts,  553-*o,  "  Penu-sylvania  Repotls." 

'  "  Proceedinga  and  Debates,"  I,  233. 


J 


Sect  51.]      Negro  Suffrage  in  Pennsylvania.  371 

article  was  taken  up  June  19,  1837.  There  was  an 
attempt  to  amend  the  report  and  to  restrict  the  suflfrage 
to  "  free  white  male "  citizens.  The  attempt  was  de- 
fended as  being  in  consonance  with  the  regulations  of 
other  States,  and  with  the  real  facts  in  Pennsylvania, 
since  *  *  In  the  county  of  Philadelphia  the  colored  man 
could  not  with  safety  appear  at  the  polls."'  The  amend- 
ment, however,  met  opposition  and  was  withdrawn.  The 
matter  arose  again  a  few  days  later  but  was  voted  down  by 
a  vote  of  61  to  49.  ^® 

The  friends  of  exclusion  now  began  systematic  efforts  to 
stir  up  public  opinion.  No  less  than  forty-five  petitions 
against  Negro  suffrage  were  handed  in,  especially  from 
Bucks  County,  where  a  Negro  had  once  nearly  succeeded 
in  being  elected  to  the  legislature.  Many  petitions  too 
in  favor  of  retaining  the  old  provisions  came  in,  but  it  was 
charged  that  the  convention  would  not  print  petitions  in 
favor  of  Negro  suffrage,  and  some  members  did  not  wish 
even  to  receive  petitions  from  Negroes." 

The  discussion  of  the  Third  Article  recurred  January  17, 
1838,  and  a  long  argument  ensued.  Finally  the  word 
** white"  was  inserted  in  the  qualifications  of  voters  by  a 
vote  of  77  to  45.  A  protracted  struggle  took  place  to 
soften  this  regulation  in  various  ways,  but  all  efforts  failed 
and  the  final  draft,  which  was  eventually  adopted  by 
popular  vote,  had  the  following  provisions : " 

"Article  III,  Section  i.  In  elections  by  the  citizens, 
every  white  freeman  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  having 
resided  in  this  State  one  year,  and  in  the  electoral  district 
where  he  offers  to  vote  ten  days  immediately  preceding 
such  election,  and  within  two  years  paid  a  State  or  county 
tax,  which  shall   have   been   assessed   at   least   ten   days 


»  **  Proceedings  and  Debates,**  II,  478. 

w/W^.,  Ill,  82-92. 

"  Ibid.,  Volumes  IV-IX. 

"  Ibid,,  IX,  320-397.  X,  1-134. 


372  Negro  Suffrage.  [Chap.  XVIL 

before  the  election,  shall  enjoy  the  rights  of  an  elector.'"* 
This  disfranchisement  lasted  thirty-two  years,  until  the 
passage  of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment.  The  Constitution 
of  1874  formally  adopted  this  change.'*  Since  1870  the 
experiment  of  iintrammeled  Negro  suffrage  has  been  made 
throughout  the  State. 

52.  City  Politics. — .A.bout  5500  Negroes  were  eligible 
to  vote  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in  1870,  The  question 
first  arises,  Into  what  sort  of  a  political  atmosphere  were 
they  introduced,  and  what  training  did  they  receive  for 
their  new  responsibilities? 

Few  large  cities  have  such  a  disreputable  record  for  mis- 
government  as  Philadelphia.  In  the  period  before  the 
war  the  city  was  ruled  by  the  Democratic  party,  which 
retained  its  power  by  the  manipulation  of  a  mass  of 
ignorant  and  turbulent  foreign  voters,  chiefly  Irish,  Riots, 
disorder,  and  crime  were  the  rule  in  the  city  proper  and 
especially  in  the  surrounding  districts.  About  the  time  of 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  the  city  was  consolidated  and 
made  coterminous  with  the  county.  The  social  up- 
heaval after  the  civil  war  gave  the  political  power  to  the 
Republicans  and  a  new  era  of  misrule  commenced.  Open 
disorder  and  crime  were  repressed,  but  in  its  place  came 
the  rule  of  the  boss,  with  its  quiet  manipulation  and  cal- 
culating embezzlement  of  public  funds.  To-day  the  gov- 
ernment of  both  city  and  State  is  imparalleled  in  the 
history  of  republican  government  for  brazen  dishonesty 
and  bare-faced  defiance  of  public  opinion.  The  supporters 
of  this  government  have  been,  by  a  vast  majority,  white 
men  and  native  Americans ;  the  Negro  vote  has  ne\'er 
exceeded  4  per  cent  of  the  total  registration. 

"'  "Purdon,"  sixth  edition. 

I'  The  Constitution  of  1874  gave  the  right  of  suQrage  to  "  Erety  mmle 

citizen  of  the  United  States  of  the  age  of  iwenty-oue  years '* 

— Debates,  etc.,  I,  503,  etc.  See  Iiidei  "Constitution  of  PennsylTania," 
Article  VIH;  and  also  the  Act  of  6  April,  1870. 


Sect.  53.]    Same  Bad  Results  of  Negro  Suffrage.  373 

Manifestly  such  a  political  atmosphere  was  the  worst 
possible  for  the  new  untutored  voter.  Starting  himself 
without  political  ideals,  he  was  put  under  the  tutelage  of 
unscrupulous  and  dishonest  men  whose  ideal  of  government 
was  to  prostitute  it  to  their  own  private  ends.  As  the 
Irishman  had  been  the  tool  of  the  Democrats,  so  the 
Negro  became  the  tool  of  the  Republicans.  It  was  natural 
that  the  freedman  should  vote  for  the  party  that  emanci- 
pated him,  and  perhaps,  too,  it  was  natural  that  a  party 
with  so  sure  a  following,  should  use  it  unscrupulously. 
The  result  to  be  expected  from  such  a  situation  was  that 
the  Negro  should  learn  from  his  surroundings  a  low  ideal 
of  political  morality  and  no  conception  of  the  real  end  of 
party  loyalty.  At  the  same  time  we  ought  to  expect  indi- 
vidual exceptions  to  this  general  level,  and  some  evidences 
of  growth. 

53.  Some  Bad  Results  of  Negro  Suffrage. — The  experi- 
ment of  Negro  suffrage  in  Philadelphia  has  developed 
three  classes  of  Negro  voters :  a  large  majority  of  voters 
who  vote  blindly  at  the  dictates  of  the  party  and,  while 
not  open  to  direct  bribery,  accept  the  indirect  emoluments 
of  office  or  influence  in  return  for  party  loyalty ;  a  consid- 
erable group,  centering  in  the  slum  districts,  which  casts  a 
corrupt  purchasable  vote  for  the  highest  bidder ;  lastly,  a 
very  small  group  of  independent  voters  who  seek  to  use 
their  vote  to  better  present  conditions  of  municipal  life. 

The  political  morality  of  the  first  group  of  voters,  that 
is  to  say,  of  the  great  mass  of  Negro  voters,  corresponds 
roughly  to  that  of  the  mass  of  white  voters,  but  with  this 
difference :  the  ignorance  of  the  Negro  in  matters  of  gov- 
ernment is  greater  and  his  devotion  to  party  blinder  and 
more  unreasoning.  Add  to  this  the  mass  of  recent  immi- 
grants from  the  South,  with  the  political  training  of  re- 
construction and  post-bellum  days,  and  one  can  easily  see 
how  poorly  trained  this  body  of  electors  has  been. 

Under  such  circumstances  it  is  but  natural  that  political 


r 


374  Negro  Suffrage.  [Chap.  XVII. 

morality  and  knowledge  should  be  even  slower  in  spread- 
ing among  Negroes  than  wealth  and  general  intelligence. 
One  consequently  finds  among  those  of  considerable  intelli- 
gence and  of  upright  lives  such  curious  misapprehension 
of  political  duties  as  is  illustrated  by  the  address  of  the 
Afro-American  League  to  the  mayor  of  the  city,  February 
8,  1897  : 

"  Mr.  Mayor: — We  desire  first  and  foremost,  to  tender  you  our  pro 
Tound  thanks  for  tbe  honor  of  this  cordial  reception.  We  regard  it.  sir, 
as  proof  of  the  recognition  on  your  part  of  that  jost  and  roost  admirable 
custom  of  our  country's  govemiaent,  which  permits  the  subjects,  however 
bumble  may  be  their  condition  in  life,  to  see  their  ruler  as  well  as  feel 
the  workings  of  his  power. 

"  We  are  here  to  state  to  your  excellency  that  the  colored  citizens  of 
Philadelphia  are  penetrated  with  feelings  of  inexpressible  grief  at  the 
manner  in  which  they  have  thus  far  been  overlooked  and  ignored  by  the 
Republican  party  in  this  city,  in  giving  out  work  and  otherwise  distribu- 
ting the  enomioaB  patronage  in  the  gift  of  the  party.  We  are  therefore 
here,  sir,  to  earnestly  beseech  of  you  as  a  faithful  Republican  and  our 
worthy  chief  executive,  to  use  your  potent  in8uence  as  well  aa  the  good 
offices  of  your  municipal  govemmeat.  if  not  inconsistent  with  the  public 
weal,  to  procure  for  the  colored  people  of  Ihis  dty  a  share  at  least,  of  the 
public  work  and  the  recognition  which  they  now  ask  for  and  feel  to  be 
justly  due  to  them,  no  less  as  citizens  and  taxpayers,  than  on  a  basis  of 
their  voting  strength  of  something  over  14,000  in  the  Republican  party 
here  in  Philadelphia. 

"As  the  chosen  organ  of  this  body  of  men  I  am  actuated  by  a  due  sense 
of  their  earnestness  of  purpose  in  this  matter  and  I  regret  to  be  inade- 
quate to  the  task  of  convincing  you,  Mr.  Mayor,  of  the  deep  interest 
which  is  being  universally  manifested  by  the  colored  element  in  Philadel- 
phia ia  this  somewhat  important  question.  The  colored,  people  neither 
aak  for  nor  eipect  extremes;  we  only  claim  that  our  loyal  fidelity  to  the 
Republican  party  should  count,  at  some  time,  for  some  benefits  to  at  least 
a  reasonable  number  of  the  colored  race  when  our  friends  are  installed 
into  place  and  power;  and,  cherishing  as  we  do.  sir,  the  most  implicit 
confidence  in  your  justice  as  the  chief  executive  of  this  great  city,  we 
firmly  believe  that  this  most  unfair  treatment  of  which  our  people  now 
complain,  would  not  fail,  when  brought  thus  to  your  attention,  in  moving 
you  in  our  humble  behalf  We,  therefore,  have  here  to  present  for  your 
candid  consideration  a  paper  containing  the  names  of  some  worthy  and 
reliable  men  of  our  race  and  they  are  respectfully  urged  for  appointment 
as  indicated  on  the  face  of  that  paper,  and  out  of  a  desire.  Mr.  Mayor,  to 
facilitate  your  efforts  should  you  take  favorable  action  upon  this  maKer, 
these  men.  a^  we  will  state,  have  been  selected  a 


possible  from  J 


Sect.  53.]     Some  Bad  Results  of  Negro  Suffrage.  375 

every  section  of  the  city,  as  well  as  upon  the  proof  of  their  fitness  for  the 
places  named." 

The  organization  which  here  speaks  is  not  large  or 
nearly  as  representative  as  it  claims  to  be ;  it  is  simply  a 
small  faction  of  "  outs  "  who  are  striving  to  get  "  in."  The 
significant  thing  about  the  address  is  the  fact  that  a  con- 
siderable number  of  fairly  respectable  and  ordinarily 
intelligent  citizens  should  think  this  a  perfectly  legitimate 
and  laudable  demand.  This  represents  the  political 
morality  of  the  great  mass  of  ordinary  Negro  voters.  And 
what  more  does  it  argue  than  that  they  have  learned  their 
lesson  well  and  recited  it  bluntly  but  honestly?  What 
more  do  the  majority  of  American  politicians  and  voters 
to-day  say  in  action  if  not  in  word  than :  "  Here  is  my 
vote,  now  where  is  my  pay  in  office  or  favor  or  influence  ?" 
What  thousands  are  acting,  this  delegation  had  the  charm- 
ing simplicity  to  say  plainly  and  then  to  print. 

Moreover  one  circumstance  makes  this  attitude  of  mind 
more  dangerous  among  Negroes  than  among  whites; 
Negroes  as  a  class  are  poor  and  as  laborers  are  restricted  to 
few  and  unremunerative  occupations;  consequently  the 
bribe  of  office  is  to  them  a  far  larger  and  alluring  tempta- 
tion than  to  the  mass  of  whites.  In  other  words  here  are 
a  people  more  ignorant  than  their  fellows,  with  stronger 
tendencies  to  dishonesty  and  crime,  who  are  offered  a  far 
larger  bribe  than  ordinary  men  to  enter  politics  for  personal 
gain.  The  result  is  obvious :  "  Of  course  I'm  in  politics," 
said  a  Negro  city  watchman,  "  it's  the  only  way  a  colored 
man  can  get  a  position  where  he  can  earn  a  decent  living.'* 
He  was  a  fireman  by  trade,  but  Philadelphia  engineers 
object  to  working  with  "  Niggers." 

If  this  is  the  result  in  the  case  of  an  honest  man,  how 
great  is  the  temptation  to  the  vicious  and  lazy.  This 
brings  us  to  the  second  class  of  voters — the  corrupt  class, 
which  sells  its  votes  more  or  less  openly. 

The  able-bodied,  well-dressed  loafers  and  criminals  who 


3^6  Negro  Suffrage.  [Chap.  XVII. 

infest  the  sidewalks  of  parts  of  the  Fifth,  Seventh  and 
other  wards  are  supported  partly  by  crime  and  gambling, 
partly  by  the  prostitution  of  their  female  paramours,  but 
mainly  from  the  vast  corruption  fund  gathered  from  office- 
holders and  others,  and  distributed  according  to  the  will  of 
the  party  Boss.     The  Public  Ledger  said  in  1896  : 

'*  II  is  estimated  that  the  Republican  City  Committee  realized  nearly  if 
not  aUoff  100.000  from  the  \^  per  cent  assessment  levied  npon  muQicipat 
officeholders  for  this  campaign.  Of  this  sum  $40,000  has  been  paid  for 
the  eight;  thous&nd  tax  receipts  to  qualify  Republican  voters  This  leaves 
f6o,ooo  at  the  disposal  of  David  Martin,  the  Combine  leader."  " 

How  is  this  corruption  fund  used?  Without  doubt  a 
large  part  of  it  is  spent  in  the  purchase  of  votes.  It  is  of 
course  difficult  to  estimate  the  directly  purchasable  vote 
among  the  whites  or  among  the  Negroes.  Once  in  a  while 
when  "thieves  fall  out"  some  idea  of  the  bribery'  may 
be  obtained;  for  instance  in  a  hearing  relative  to  a  Third 
Ward  election  : 

William  Reed,  of  Catharine  street,  below  Thirteenth,  was  first  on  the 
stand.     He  was  watcher  in  the  Fifteenth  Division  on  election  day. 

"Did  you  make  up  any  election  papers  for  voters?"  asked  Mr.  Ingham. 

"  I  marked  up  about  seventy  or  eighty  ballots;  I  got  |io  off  of  Roberts' 
brother,  and  used  f  100  altogether,  paying  the  rest  out  of  my  own  pocket." 

"  How  did  you  spend  the  money?" 

"  Oh,  well,  there  were  some  few  objectionable  characters  there  to  make 
trouble.  We'd  give  'em  a  few  dollars  to  go  away  and  attend  to  their 
business."     Then  he  addressed  Mr.  Ingham  directly,  "  Vou  know  how  it 

"I'd  give  'em  a  dollar  to  buy  a  cigar.  And  if  they  didn't  want  to  pay 
|i  for  a  cigar,  why,  they  could  put  it  in  the  contribution  box  at  church," 

"  Was  this  election  conducted  in  the  usual  way  ?'"  inquired  Mr.  Sterr. 

"  Oh,  yes,  the  way  they're  conducted  in  the  Third  Ward — with  vote 
buying,  and  all  the  rest  of  it." 

"  Did  the  other  aide  have  any  money  to  spend?" 

"  Saunders  had  >i5  to  the  division." 

"What  did  your  side  have?" 

"  Oh,  we  had  about  $60 ;  there  was  money  to  bunt.  But  our  mone^ 
went  to  three  people.  The  other  fellows  saved  theirs.  I  spent  mine — 
like  a  sucker." 

"  October  5,  1896. 


Sect.  53.]   Some  Bad  Remits  of  Negro  Suffrage,  377 

James  Brown,  a  McKinley-Citizen  worker,  began  his  testimony  indig- 
nantly. 

"  Election  ?  Why  Reed  and  Morrow,  the  judges  of  the  election,  run 
the  whole  shootin'  match,"  he  declared.  "  It  was  all  a  farce.  I  brought 
voters  up ;  and  Reed  would  take  'em  away  fh>m  me.  When  we  chal- 
lenged anybody,  Reed  and  the  others  would  have  vouchers  ready." 

**  Did  they  use  money  ?** 

"There  was  a  good  deal  of  money  through  the  division.  We  wasn't 
even  allowed  to  mark  ballots  for  our  own  people  who  asked  for  help. 
The  judge  would  ask  'em  if  they  could  read  and  write.  When  they  said 
*  yes,*  he'd  tell  'em  they  were  able  to  mark  their  own  ballot  There  were 
even  some  people  who  wanted  to  mark  their  own  ballots.  Reed  would 
simply  grab  'em  and  mark  their  ballots,  whether  they  liked  it  or  not." 

Lavinia  Brown,  colored,  of  the  rear  of  1306  E^ater  street,  said  that  Mr. 
Bradford  was  judge  on  election  day,  of  the  Sixteenth  Division,  and  that 
on  the  morning  of  the  election  she  cooked  his  breakfast  She  said  that 
I.  Newton  Roberts  came  to  the  house,  and  in  her  presence  gave  Bradford 
a  roll  of  notes,  at  the  same  time  throwing  her  |2,  but  she  did  not  know 
for  what  purpose  he  gave  it. 

George  W.  Green,  colored,  of  1224  Catharine  street,  said  he  was  a 
watcher  at  the  polls  of  the  Sixteenth  Division.  He  told  of  fraud  and 
how  the  voters  were  treated. 

•*  Were  you  offered  any  money  ?" 

"Yes,  sir.  Lincoln  Roberts  came  over  to  me  and  shoved  (50  at  me, 
but  I  turned  him  down  and  would  not  take  it,  because  I  didn't  belong  to 
that  crowd."  Continuing,  he  said:  "Seven  or  eight  men  were  chal- 
lenged, but  it  did  not  amount  to  anything,  because  Lincoln  Roberts 
would  tell  the  police  to  eject  them.  He  also  vouched  for  men  who  did 
not  live  in  the  ward.    This  condition  of  affidxs  continued  all  day." 

Several  other  witnesses  followed,  whose  testimony  was  similar  to 
Green's,  and  who  declared  that  money  was  distributed  freely  by  the 
Roberts  faction  to  buy  over  voters.  They  said  that  challenges  were  dis- 
regarded, and  that  the  election  was  a  fiu-ce.  Voters  were  kept  out,  and 
when  it  was  known  that  any  of  Saunders'  adherents  were  coming  a  rush 
would  be  made,  making  it  impossible  for  that  side  to  enter  the  booth. 

Philip  Brown,  a  McKinley-Citizen  watcher,  said  that  the  election  was 
a  fraud.  He  saw  Mr.  Roberts  with  a  pile  of  money,  going  around  shout- 
ing, '*  That's  the  stuff  that  wins !"  When  asked  what  the  judge  was  doing 
all  this  time  he  said: 

"  Why,  the  judge  belonged  to  Mr.  Roberts,  who  had  full  control  of  the 
polling  place  all  day." 

William  Hare,  of  1346  iCater  street,  proved  an  interesting  witness.  His 
story  is  as  follows : 

'*  Mr.  Lincoln  Roberts  brought  my  tax  receipt  and  told  me  to  come 
around  to  the  club.    I  went  and  was  given  a  bundle  of  tax  receipts, 


r 


378  Negro  Suffrage.  [Chap.  XVII. 

marked  for  other  mea,  and  told  to  deliver  them.  The  next  day  being 
election  day  I  made  it  a  point  to  natch,  and  saw  that  every  maa  to  whom 
I  gave  a  receipt  came  to  the  polli  and  voted  for  Mr.  Roberts.  I  saw  Mr. 
Kenton  Roberts  mark  the  ballots  over  six  times  myself." 

Many  of  the  men  mentioned  here  are  white,  and  this 
happened  in  a  ward  where  there  are  more  white  than  Ne- 
gro voters,  but  the  same  open  bribery  goes  on  at  every 
election  in  the  shtm  districts  of  the  Fourth,  Fifth,  Seventh 
and  Eighth  Wards,  where  a  large  Negro  vote  is  cast  In  a 
meeting  of  Negroes  held  in  1896  one  politician  calmly 
announced  that  "  through  money  from  my  white  friends  I 
control  the  colored  vote  in  my  precinct."  Another  man 
arose  and  denounced  the  speaker  pretty  plainly  as  a  trick- 
ster although  his  allegation  was  not  denied.  This  brought 
on  general  discussion  in  which  there  were  uncontradicted 
statements  that  in  certain  sections  votes  were  bought  for 
"  fifty  cents  and  a  drink  of  whisky  "  and  men  "  driven  in 
droves  to  the  polls."  There  was  some  exaggeration  here 
and  yet  without  doubt  many  Negroes  sell  their  votes 
directly  for  a  money  consideration.  This  sort  of  thing  is 
confined  to  the  lowest  classes,  but  there  it  is  widespread. 
Such  bribery,  however,  is  the  least  harmful  kind  because 
it  is  so  direct  and  shameless  that  only  men  of  no  character 
would  accept  it. 

Next  to  this  direct  purchase  of  votes,  one  of  the  chief 
and  most  pernicious  forms  of  briberj-  among  the  lowest 
classes  is  through  the  establishment  of  political  clubs, 
which  abound  in  the  Fourth,  Fifth,  Seventh  and  Eighth 
Wards,  and  are  not  uncommon  elsewhere.  A  political  club 
is  a  band  of  eight  or  twelve  men  who  rent  a  club  house 
with  money  furnished  them  by  the  boss,  and  support  them- 
selves partially  in  the  same  way.  The  club  is  often  named 
after  some  politician — one  of  the  most  notorious  gambling 
hells  of  the  Seventh  Ward  is  named  after  a  United  States 
Senator — and  the  business  of  the  club  is  to  see  that  its 
precinct  is  carried  for  the  proper  candidate,  to  get  "jobs" 
for  some  of  its  "boys,"  to  keep  others  from  arrest  and  to 


Sect.  53.]   Same  Bad  Results  of  Negro  Suffrage.  379 

secure  bail  and  discharge  for  those  arrested.  Such  clubs 
become  the  centre  of  gambling,  drunkenness,  prostitution 
and  crime.  Every  night  there  are  no  less  than  fifteen  of 
these  clubs  in  the  Seventh  Ward  where  open  gambling  goes 
on,  to  which  almost  any  one  can  gain  admittance  if  properly 
introduced ;  nearly  every  day  some  redhanded  criminal 
finds  refuge  here  from  the  law.  Prostitutes  are  in  easy 
reach  of  these  places  and  sometimes  enter  them.  Liquor 
is  furnished  to  "  members  "  at  all  times  and  the  restrictions 
on  membership  are  slight  The  leader  of  each  club  is  boss 
of  his  district ;  he  knows  the  people,  knows  the  ward  boss^ 
knows  the  police;  so  long  as  the  loafers  and  gamblers 
under  him  do  not  arouse  the  public  too  much  he  sees  that 
they  are  not  molested.  If  they  are  arrested  it  does  not 
mean  much  save  in  grave  cases.  Men  openly  boast  on  the 
streets  that  they  can  get  bail  for  any  amount.  And  cer- 
tainly they  appear  to  have  powerful  friends  at  the  Public 
Buildings.  There  is  of  course  a  difference  in  the  various 
clubs ;  some  are  of  higher  class  than  others  and  receive 
offices  as  bribes ;  others  are  openly  devoted  to  gambling 
and  receive  protection  as  a  bribe  ;  one  of  the  most  notorious 
gambling  houses  of  the  Seventh  Ward  was  recently  raided, 
and  although  every  school  boy  knows  the  character  of  the 
proprietor  he  was  released  for  "  lack  of  evidence."  Still 
other  clubs  are  simply  winter  quarters  for  thieves,  loafers 
and  criminals  well  known  to  the  police.  There  are  of 
course  one  or  two  clubs,  mainly  social  and  only  partially 
political,  to  which  the  foregoing  statements  do  not  apply 
— as  for  instance  the  Citizens'  Club  on  Broad  street,  which 
has  the  best  Negroes  of  the  city  in  its  membership,  allows 
no  gambling  and  pays  its  own  expenses.  This  club, 
however,  stands  almost  alone  and  the  other  twelve  or 
fifteen  political  clubs  of  the  Seventh  Ward  represent  a 
form  of  political  corruption  which  is  a  disgrace  to  a 
civilized  city.  In  the  Fourth,  Fifth  and  Eighth  Wards 
there  are  ten  or  twelve  more  clubs,  and  probably  in  the 


380  Negro  Suffrage.  [Chap.  XVII. 

whole  city  the  Negroes  have  forty  such  places  with  a 
possible  membership  of  five  or  six  hundred.  The  influeuce 
of  these  clubs  on  the  young  immigrants,  on  growing  boys, 
on  the  surrounding  working  people  is  most  deplorable.  At 
the  polls  they  carry  the  day  with  high-handed  and  often 
riotous  proceedings,  voting  "repeaters"  and  "  colonists " 
often  with  impunity. 

Among  the  great  mass  of  Negro  voters,  whose  votes 
cannot  be  directly  purchased,  a  less  direct  but,  in  the  long 
run,  more  demoralizing  bribery  is  common.  It  is  the  same 
sort  of  bribery  as  that  which  is  to-day  corrupting  the  white 
voters  of  the  land,  viz  : 

(a)  Contributions  to  various  objects  in  which  voters  are 
interested. 

{b)  Appointment  to  public  office  or  to  work  of  any  kind 
for  the  city. 

Men  accept  from  political  organizations,  contributions  to 
charitable  and  other  objects  which  they  would  not  think  of 
accepting  for  themselves.  Others  less  scrupulous  get  con- 
tributions or  favors  for  enterprises  in  which  they  are 
directly  interested.  Fairs,  societies,  clubs  and  even 
churches  have  profited  by  this  sort  of  political  corniption, 
and  the  custom  is  by  no  means  confined  to  Negroes. 

A  better  known  method  of  political  bribery  among  the 
mass  of  Negroes  is  through  apportionment  of  the  public 
work  or  appointment  to  public  office.  The  work  open  to 
Negroes  throughout  the  cit\^  is  greatly  restricted  as  has 
been  pointed  out.  One  class  of  well-paid  positions,  the 
city  civil-service,  was  once  closed  to  them,  and  only  one 
road  was  open  to  them  to  secure  these  positions  and  that 
was  unquestioning  obedience  to  the  "machine."  The 
emoluments  of  office  are  a  temptation  to  most  men,  but 
how  much  greater  they  are  for  Negroes  can  only  be  realized 
on  reflection  :  Here  is  a  well-educated  young  man,  who 
despite  all  efforts  can  get  no  work  above  that  of  porter 
at  %h  or  $8  a  week.     If  he  goes  into  "politics,"  blindly 


Sect.  53.]    Some  Bad  Results  of  Negro  Suffrage.  381 

votes  for  the  candidate  of  the  party  boss,  and  by  hard, 
steady  and  astute  work  persuades  most  of  the  colored 
voters  in  his  precinct  to  do  the  same,  he  has  the  chance  of 
being  rewarded  by  a  city  clerkship,  the  social  prestige  of 
being  in  a  position  above  menial  labor,  and  an  income  of 
$60  or  $75  a  month.  Such  is  the  character  of  the  grasp 
which  the  "machine"  has  on  even  intelligent  Negro 
voters. 

How  far  this  sort  of  bribery  goes  is  illustrated  by  the 
fact  that  170  city  employes  are  from  the  Fifth  Ward  and 
probably  forty  of  these  are  Negroes.  The  three  Negra 
members  of  the  machine  in  this  ward  are  all  office-holders. 
About  one-fourth  of  the  fifty-two  members  of  the  Seventh 
Ward  machine  are  Negroes,  and  one-half  of  these  are  oflSce- 
holders.  The  Negro's  record  as  an  office-seeker  is,  it  is 
needless  to  say,  far  surpassed  by  his  white  brother  and  it  is 
only  in  the  last  two  decades  that  Negroes  have  appeared  as 
members  of  councils  and  clerks.^* 

In  spite  of  the  methods  employed  to  secure  these  offices 
it  cannot  as  yet  justly  be  charged  that  many  of  the  Negra 
office-holders  are  unfitted  for  their  duty.  There  is  always 
the  possibility  however  that  incompetent  Negro  officers 
may  increase  in  number;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  but 
that  corrupt  and  dishonest  white  politicians  have  been  kept 
in  power  by  the  influence  thus  obtained  to  sway  the  Negro 
vote  of  the  Seventh  and  Eighth  and  other  wards.  The 
problem  of  the  Negro  voter  then  is  one  of  the  many  prob- 
lems that  baffle  all  efforts  at  political  reform  in  Philadelphia  : 
the  small  corrupt  vote  of  the  slums  which  disgraces  repub- 
lican government;  the  large  vote  of  the  masses  which 
mistaken  political  ideals,  blind  party  loyalty  and  economic 
stress  now  holds  imprisoned  and  shackled  to  the  service  of 
dishonest  political  leaders. 


"•Cf.  "A  Woman's  Municipal  Campaign.*'  Publications  of  Amer.  Aca<L 
of  PoL  and  Soc  Science. 


r 


388  Negro  Suffrage.  [Chap.  XVII. 

54.  Some  Good  Results  of  Negro  Suffrage. — It  is 
wrong  to  suppose  that  all  the  results  of  this  hazardous 
experiment  in  widening  the  franchise  have  been  evil. 
First  the  ballot  has  without  doubt  been  a  means  of  protec- 
tion in  the  hands  of  a  people  peculiarly  liable  to  oppression. 
Its  first  bestowal  gained  Negroes  admittance  to  street-cars 
after  a  struggle  of  a  quarter  century  ;  and  frequently  since 
private  and  public  oppression  has  been  lightened  by  the 
knowledge  of  the  power  of  the  black  vote.  This  fact  has 
greatly  increased  the  civic  patriotism  of  the  Negro,  made 
him  strive  more  eagerly  to  adapt  himself  to  the  spirit 
of  the  city  life,  and  has  kept  him  from  becoming  a  socially 
dangerous  class. 

At  the  same  time  the  Negro  has  never  sought  to  use  his 
ballot  to  menace  civilization  or  even  the  established  prin- 
ciples of  this  government.  This  fact  has  been  noticed  by 
many  students  but  it  deserves  emphasis.  Instead  of  being 
radical  light-headed  followers  of  ever>'  new  political  pana- 
cea, the  freedmen  of  Philadelphia  and  of  the  nation  have 
always  formed  the  most  conservative  element  in  our  politi- 
cal life  and  have  steadfastly  opposed  the  schemes  of  infla- 
tionists, socialists  and  dreamers.  Part  of  this  conservatism 
may  to  be  sure  be  the  inertia  of  ignorance,  but  even  such 
inertia  must  anchor  to  some  well-defined  notions  as  to  what 
the  present  situation  is ;  and  no  element  of  our  political 
life  seems  better  to  comprehend  the  main  lines  of  our 
social  organization  than  the  Negro.  In  Philadelphia  he 
has  usually  been  allied  with  the  better  elements  although 
too  often  that  "better"  was  far  from  the  best.  And  never 
has  the  Negro  been  to  any  extent  the  ally  of  the  worst 
elements. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  unworthy  officials  could  easily 
get  into  oiEce  by  the  political  methods  pursued  by  the 
Negroes,  the  average  of  those  who  have  obtained  ofiice  has 
been  good.  Of  the  three  colored  couucilmen  one  has  re- 
ceived the  endorsement  of  the  Municipal   League,  while 


>Sect  55.]  The  Paradox  of  Reform,  383 

the  others  seem  to  be  up  to  the  average  of  the  councilmen. 
One  Negro  has  been  clerk  in  the  tax  office  for  twenty  years 
or  more  and  has  an  enviable  record.  The  colored  police- 
men as  a  class  are  declared  by  their  superiors  to  be  capable, 
neat  and  efficient  There  are  some  cases  of  inefficiency — 
one  clerk  who  used  to  be  drunk  most  of  his  time,  another 
who  devotes  his  time  to  work  outside  his  office,  and  many 
cases  of  inefficient  watchmen  and  laborers.  The  average 
of  efficiency  among  colored  officeholders  however  is  good 
and  much  higher  than  one  might  naturally  expect 

Finally,  the  training  in  citizenship  which  the  exercise  of 
the  right  of  suffirage  entails  has  not  been  lost  on  the  Phila- 
delphia Negro.  Any  worthy  cause  of  municipal  reform 
can  secure  a  respectable  Negro  vote  in  the  city,  showing 
that  there  is  the  germ  of  an  intelligent  independent  vote 
which  rises  above  even  the  blandishments  of  decent  remu- 
nerative employment.  This  class  is  small  but  seems  to  be 
growing. 

55.  The  Paradox  of  Reform. — The  growth  of  a  higher 
political  morality  among  Negroes  is  to-day  hindered  by 
their  paradoxical  position.  Suppose  the  Municipal  League 
or  the  Woman's  School-board  movement,  or  some  other 
reform  is  brought  before  the  better  class  of  Negroes  to-day; 
they  will  nearly  all  agree  that  city  politics  are  notoriously 
corrupt,  that  honest  women  should  replace  ward  heelers  on 
school-boards,  and  the  like.  But  can  they  vote  for  such 
movements?  Most  of  them  will  say  No;  for  to  do  so  will 
throw  many  worthy  Negroes  out  of  employment :  these 
very  reformers  who  want  votes  for  specific  reforms,  will  not 
themselves  work  beside  Negroes,  or  admit  them  to  posi- 
tions in  their  stores  or  offices,  or  lend  them  friendly  aid  in 
trouble.  Moreover  Negroes  are  proud  of  their  councilmen 
and  policemen.  What  if  some  of  these  positions  of  honor 
and  respectability  have  been  gained  by  shady  "politics" — 
shall  they  be  nicer  in  these  matters  than  the  mass  of  the 
whites?    Shall  they  surrender  these  tangible  evidences  of 


384  .  Negro  Suffrage.  [Chap.  XVIL 

the  rise  of  their  race  to  forward  the  good-hearted  but  hardly 
imperative  demands  of  a  crowd  of  women?  Especially, 
too,  of  women  who  did  not  apparently  know  there  were 
any  Negroes  on  earth  until  they  wanted  their  votes?  Such 
logic  may  be  faulty,  but  it  is  convincing  to  the  mass  of 
Negro  voters.  And  cause  after  cause  may  gain  their  re- 
spectful attention  and  even  applause,  but  when  election- 
day  comes,  the  "machine"  gets  their  votes. 

Thus  the  growth  of  broader  political  sentiment  is  hin- 
dered and  will  be  until  some  change  comes.  When  indus- 
trial  exclusion  is  so  broken  down  that  no  class  will 
be  unduly  tempted  by  the  bribe  of  office ;  when  the  apos- 
tles of  civil  reform  compete  within  the  ward  Boss  in 
friendliness  and  kindly  consideration  for  the  unfortunate ; 
when  the  league  between  gambling  and  crime  and  the  city 
authorities  is  less  close,  then  we  can  expect  the  more  rapid 
development  of  civic  virtue  in  the  Negro  and  indeed  in  the 
whole  city.  As  it  is  to-day  the  experiment  of  Negro  suf- 
frage with  all  its  glaring  shortcomings  cannot  justly  be 
called  a  failure,  but  rather  in  view  of  all  circumstances  a 
partial  success.  Whatever  it  lacks  can  justly  be  charged 
to  those  Philadelphians  who  for  thirty  years  have  surrend- 
ered their  right  of  political  leadership  to  thieves  and  trick- 
sters, and  allowed  such  teachers  to  instruct  this  untutored 
race  in  whose  hand  lay  an  unfamiliar  instrument  of  civili- 
zation. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

A  FINAL  WORD. 

56.  The  Meaning  of  All  This. — Two  sorts  of  answers 
are  usually  returned  to  the  bewildered  American  who  asks 
seriously:  What  is  the  Negro  problem?  The  one  is 
straightforward  and  clear:  it  is  simply  this,  or  simply 
that,  and  one  simple  remedy  long  enough  applied  will  in 
time  cause  it  to  disappear.  The  other  answer  is  apt  to  be 
hopelessly  involved  and  complex — to  indicate  no  simple 
panacea,  and  to  end  in  a  somewhat  hopeless — ^There  it  is ; 
what  can  we  do  ?  Both  of  these  sorts  of  answers  have  some- 
thing of  truth  in  them :  the  Negro  problem  looked  at  in 
one  way  is  but  the  old  world  questions  of  ignorance, 
poverty,  crime,  and  the  dislike  of  the  stranger.  On  the 
other  hand  it  is  a  mistake  to  think  that  attacking  each  of 
these  questions  single-handed  without  reference  to  the 
others  will  settle  the  matter:  a  combination  of  social 
problems  is  far  more  than  a  matter  of  mere  addition, — the 
combination  itself  is  a  problem.  Nevertheless  the  Negro 
problems  are  not  more  hopelessly  complex  than  many 
others  have  been.  Their  elements  despite  their  bewildering 
complication  can  be  kept  clearly  in  view :  they  are  after 
all  the  same  difficulties  over  which  the  world  has  grown 
gray :  the  question  as  to  how  far  human  intelligence  can 
be  trusted  and  trained ;  as  to  whether  we  must  always 
have  the  poor  with  us ;  as  to  whether  it  is  possible  for  the 
mass  of  men  to  attain  righteousness  on  earth  ;  and  then  to 
this  is  added  that  question  of  questions :  after  all  who  are 
Men  ?  Is  every  f eatherless  biped  to  be  counted  a  man  and 
brother  ?  Are  all  races  and  types  to  be  joint  heirs  of  the 
25  (385) 


r 


386  A  Final  Word. 

new  earth  that  men  have  striven  to  raise  in  thirty  centuries 
and  more?  Shall  we  not  swamp  civilization  in  barbar- 
ism and  drown  genius  in  indulgence  if  we  seek  a  mythical 
Humanity  which  shall  shadow  all  men  ?  The  answer  of 
the  early  centuries  to  this  puzzle  was  clear :  those  of  any 
nation  who  can  be  called  Men  and  endowed  with  rights  are 
few :  they  are  the  privileged  classes — the  well-bom  and  the 
accidents  of  low-birth  called  up  by  the  King.  The  rest, 
the  mass  of  the  nation,  the  p'obel,  the  mob,  are  fit  to  follow, 
to  obey,  to  dig  and  delve,  but  not  to  think  or  rule  or  play 
the  gentleman.  We  who  were  born  to  another  philosophy 
hardly  realize  how  deep-seated  and  plausible  this  view  of 
human  capabilities  and  powers  once  was;  how  utterly  in- 
comprehensible this  republic  would  have  been  to  Charle- 
magne or  Charles  V.  or  Charles  I,  We  rather  hasten  to 
forget  that  once  the  courtiers  of  English  kings  looked  upon 
the  ancestors  of  most  Americans  with  far  greater  contempt 
than  these  Americans  look  upon  Negroes — and  perhaps, 
indeed,  had  more  cause.  We  forget  that  once  French 
peasants  were  the  "  Niggers  "  of  France,  and  that  German 
princelings  once  discussed  with  doubt  the  brains  and 
humanity  of  the  bauer. 

Much  of  this — or  at  least  some  of  it — has  passed  and  the 
world  has  glided  by  blood  and  iron  into  a  wider  humanity, 
a  wider  respect  for  simple  manhood  unadorned  by  ancestors 
or  privilege.  Not  that  we  have  discovered,  as  some  hoped 
and  some  feared,  that  all  men  were  created  free  and  equal, 
but  rather  that  the  differences  in  men  are  not  so  vast  as  we 
had  assumed.  We  still  yield  the  well-born  the  advantages 
of  birth,  we  still  see  that  each  nation  has  its  dangerous 
flock  of  fools  and  rascals  ;  but  we  also  find  most  men  have 
brains  to  be  cultivated  and  souls  to  be  saved. 

And  still  this  widening  of  the  idea  of  common  Human- 
ity is  of  slow  growth  and  to-day  but  dimly  realized.  We 
grant  full  citizenship  in  the  World-Commonwealth  to  the 
"  Anglo-Saxon "  (whatever  that  may  mean),  the  Teuton 


» 


Sect  56.]  The  Meaning  of  All  This.  387 

and  the  Latin;  then  with  just  a  shade  of  reluctance  we 
extend  it  to  the  Celt  and  Slav.  We  half  deny  it  to  the  yel- 
low races  of  Asia,  admit  the  brown  Indians  to  an  ante-room 
only  on  the  strength  of  an  undeniable  past ;  but  with  the 
Negroes  of  Africa  we  come  to  a  full  stop,  and  in  its  heart 
the  civilized  world  with  one  accord  denies  that  these  come 
within  the  pale  of  nineteenth  century  Humanity.  This 
feeling,  widespread  and  deep-seated,  is,  in  America,  the 
vastest  of  the  Negro  problems ;  we  have,  to  be  sure,  a 
threatening  problem  of  ignorance  but  the  ancestors  of  most 
Americans  were  far  more  ignorant  than  the  freedmen's 
sons ;  these  ex-slaves  are  poor  but  not  as  poor  as  the  Irish 
peasants  used  to  be ;  crime  is  rampant  but  not  more  so, 
if  as  much,  as  in  Italy;  but  the  difiEerence  is  that  the 
ancestors  of  the  English  and  the  Irish  and  the  Italians 
were  felt  to.  be  worth  educating,  helping  and  guiding 
because  they  were  men  and  brothers,  while  in  Americana 
census  which  gives  a  slight  indication  of  the  utter  disap- 
pearance of  the  American  Negro  from  the  earth  is  greeted 
with  ill-concealed  delight. 

Other  centuries  looking  back  upon  the  culture  of  the 
nineteenth  would  have  a  right  to  suppose  that  if,  in  a  land 
of  freemen,  eight  millions  of  human  beings  were  found  to 
be  d3dng  of  disease,  the  nation  would  cry  with  one  voice, 
"  Heal  them ! "  If  they  were  staggering  on  in  ignorance,  it 
would  cry,  "Train  them!"  If  they  were  harming  themselves 
and  others  by  crime,  it  would  cry,  "  Guide  them  I"  And 
such  cries  are  heard  and  have  been  heard  in  the  land ;  but 
it  was  not  one  voice  and  its  volume  has  been  ever  broken 
by  counter-cries  and  echoes,  "  Let  them  die!"  "  Train  them 
like  slaves !"    "  Let  them  stagger  downward !" 

This  is  the  spirit  that  enters  in  and  complicates  all 
Negro  social  problems  and  this  is  a  problem  which  only 
civilization  and  humanity  can  successfully  solve.  Mean- 
time we  have  the  other  problems  before  us — we  have  the 
problems    arising  from  the  uniting  of  so  many  social 


388  A  Hnal  Ward.  [Chap.  XVm. 

questions  about  one  centre.  In  such  a  situation  we  need 
only  to  avoid  underestimating  the  difficulties  on  the  one 
hand  and  overestimating  them  on  the  other.  The  prob- 
lems are  difficult,  extremely  difficult,  but  they  are  such  as 
the  world  has  conquered  before  and  can  conquer  again. 
Moreover  the  battle  involves  more  than  a  mere  altruistic 
interest  in  an  alien  people.  It  is  a  battle  for  humanity 
and  human  culture.  If  in  the  hey-dey  of  the  greatest  of 
the  world's  civilizations,  it  is  possible  for  one  people 
ruthlessly  to  steal  another,  drag  them  helpless  across  the 
water,  enslave  them,  debauch  them,  and  then  slowly 
murder  them  by  economic  and  social  exclusion  until  they 
disappear  from  the  face  of  the  earth — ^if  the  consumma- 
tion of  such  a  crime  be  possible  in  the  twentieth  century, 
then  our  civilization  is  vain  and  the  republic  is  a  mockery 
and  a  farce. 

But  this  will  not  be;  first,  even  with  the  terribly 
adverse  circumstances  under  which  Negroes  live,  there  is 
not  the  slightest  likelihood  of  their  d3dng  out ;  a  nation 
that  has  endured  the  slave-trade,  slavery,  reconstruction, 
and  present  prejudice  three  hundred  years,  and  under  it 
increased  in  numbers  and  efficiency,  is  not  in  any  immedi- 
ate danger  of  extinction.  Nor  is  the  thought  of  voluntary 
or  involuntary  emigration  more  than  a  dream  of  men  who 
forget  that  there  are  half  as  many  Negroes  in  the  United 
States  as  Spaniards  in  Spain.  If  this  be  so  then  a  few 
plain  propositions  may  be  laid  down  as  axiomatic : 

1.  The  Negro  is  here  to  stay. 

2.  It  is  to  the  advantage  of  all,  both  black  and  white, 
that  every  Negro  should  make  the  best  of  himself. 

3.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Negro  to  raise  himself  by  every 
effort  to  the  standards  of  modern  civilization  and  not  to 
lower  those  standards  in  any  degree. 

4.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  white  people  to  guard  their  civil- 
ization against  debauchment  by  themselves  or  others; 
but  in  order  to  do  this  it  is  not  necessary  to  hinder  and 


Sect  57.]  Jlie  Duty  of  the  Negroes.  389 

retard  the  efforts  of  an  earnest  people  to  rise,  simply 
because  they  lack  faith  in  the  ability  of  that  people. 

5.  With  these  duties  in  mind  and  with  a  spirit  of  self* 
help,  mutual  aid  and  co-operation,  the  two  races  should 
strive  side  by  side  to  realize  the  ideals  of  the  republic  and 
make  this  truly  a  land'of  equal  opportunity  for  all  men. 

57.  The  Duty  of  the  Negroes. — ^That  the  Negro  race 
has  an  appalling  work  of  social  reform  before  it  need  hardly 
be  said.  Simply  because  the  ancestors  of  the  present  white 
inhabitants  of  America  went  out  of  their  way  barbarously 
to  mistreat  and  enslave  the  ancestors  of  the  present  black 
inhabitants,  gives  those  blacks  no  right  to  ask  that  the  civil* 
ization  and  morality  of  the  land  be  seriously  menaced  for 
their  benefit.  Men  have  a  right  to  demand  that  the  mem* 
bers  <tf  a  civilized  community  be  civilized ;  that  the  fabric 
of  human  culture,  so  laboriously  woven,  be  not  wantonly  or 
ignorantly  destroyed.  Consequently  a  nation  may  rightly 
demand,  even  of  a  people  it  has  consciously  and  intention* 
ally  wronged,  not  indeed  complete  civilization  in  thirty  or 
one  hundred  years,  but  at  least  every  effort  and  sacrifice 
possible  on  their  part  toward  making  themselves  fit  mem- 
bers of  the  community  within  a  reasonable  length  of  time; 
that  thus  they  may  early  become  a  source  of  strength  and 
help  instead  of  a  national  burden.  Modem  society  has 
too  many  problems  of  its  own,  too  much  proper  anxiety  as 
to  its  own  ability  to  survive  under  its  present  organization, 
for  it  lightly  to  shoulder  all  the  burdens  of  a  less  advanced 
people,  and  it  can  rightly  demand  that  as  far  as  possible 
and  as  rapidly  as  possible  the  Negro  bend  his  energy  to  the 
solving  of  his  own  social  problems— contributing  to  his 
poor,  paying  his  share  of  the  taxes  and  supporting  the 
schools  and  public  administration.  For  the  accomplish* 
ment  of  this  the  Negro  has  a  right  to  demand  freedom  for 
self-development,  and  no  more  aid  from  without  than  is 
really  helpful  for  furthering  that  development  Such  aid 
must  of  necessity  be  considerable :  it  must  furnish  schools 


r 


390  A  Final  tt'ord.  [Chap.  XVIIL 


and  reformatories,  and  relief  and  preventive  agencies ;  but 
the  bulk  of  the  work  of  raising  the  Negro  must  be  done  by 
the  Negro  himself,  and  the  greatest  help  for  him  will  be 
not  to  hinder  and  curtail  and  discourage  his  efforts. 
Against  prejudice,  injustice  and  'wrong  the  Negro  ought  to 
protest  energetically  and  continuously,  but  he  must  never 
forget  that  he  protests  because  those  things  hinder  his  own 
efforts,  and  that  those  efforts  are  the  key  to  his  future. 

And  those  efforts  must  be  mighty  and  comprehensive, 
persistent,  well-aimed  and  tireless ;  satisfied  with  no  partial 
success,  hilled  to  sleep  by  no  colorless  victories  ;  and,  above 
all,  guided  by  no  low  selfish  ideals ;  at  the  same  time  they 
must  be  tempered  by  common  sense  and  rational  expecta- 
tion. In  Philadelphia  those  efforts  should  first  be  directed 
toward  a  lessening  of  Negro  crime  ;  no  doubt  the  amount 
of  crime  imputed  to  the  race  is  exaggerated,  no  doubt 
features  of  the  Negro's  environment  over  which  he  has  no 
control,  excuse  much  that  is  committed ;  but  beyond  all 
this  the  amount  of  crime  that  can  without  doubt  rightly  be 
laid  at  the  door  of  the  Philadelphia  Negro  is  large  and  is  a 
menace  to  a  civilized  people.  Efforts  to  stop  this  crime 
must  commence  in  tbe  Negro  homes  ;  they  must  cease  to 
be,  as  they  often  are,  breeders  of  idleness  and  extravagance 
and  complaint  Work,  continuous  and  intensive;  work, 
although  it  be  menial  and  poorly  rewarded  ;  work,  though 
done  in  travail  of  soul  and  sweat  of  brow,  must  be  so  im- 
pressed upon  Negro  children  as  the  road  to'salvation,  that 
a  child  would  feel  it  a  greater  disgrace  to  be  idle  than  to 
do  the  humblest  labor.  The  homely  virtues  of  honesty, 
truth  and  chastity  must  be  instilled  in  the  cradle,  and 
although  it  is  hard  to  teach  self-respect  to  a  people  whose 
million  fellow-citizens  half-despise  them,  yet  it  must  be 
taught  as  the  surest  road  to  gain  the  respect  of  others. 

It  is  right  and  proper  that  Negro  boys  and  girls  should 
desire  to  rise  as  high  in  the  world  as  their  ability  and  just 
desert  entitle  them.     They  should  be  ever  encouraged  and 


Sect  57.]  The  Duty  of  the  Negroes.  391 

urged  to  do  so,  although  they  should  be  taught  also  that 
idleness  and  crime  are  beneath  and  not  above  the  lowest 
work.  It  should  be  the  continual  object  of  Negroes  to 
open  up  better  industrial  chances  for  their  sons  and  daugh- 
ters. Their  success  here  must  of  course  rest  largely  with 
the  white  people,  but  not  entirely.  Proper  co-operation 
among  forty  or  fifty  thousand  colored  people  ought  to 
open  many  chances  of  employment  for  their  sons  and 
daughters  in  trades,  stores  and  shops,  associations  and 
industrial  enterprises. 

Further,  some  rational  means  of  amusement  should  be 
furnished  young  folks.  Prayer  meetings  and  church 
socials  have  their  place,  but  they  cannot  compete  in  attrac- 
tiveness with  the  dance  halls  and  gambling  dens  of  the 
city.  There  is  a  legitimate  demand  for  amusement  on  the 
part  of  the  young  which  may  be  made  a  means  of  educa- 
tion, improvement  and  recreation.  A  harmless  and  beauti- 
fiil  amusement  like  dancing  might  with  proper  eflEort  be 
rescued  from  its  low  and  unhealthful  associations  and 
made  a  means  of  health  and  recreation.  The  billiard 
table  is  no  more  wedded  to  the  saloon  than  to  the  church 
if  good  people  did  not  drive  it  there.  If  the  Negro  homes 
and  churches  cannot  amuse  their  young  people,  and  if  no 
other  efiEorts  are  made  to  satisfy  this  want,  then  we  cannot 
complain  if  the  saloons  and  clubs  and  bawdy-houses  send 
these  children  to  crime,  disease  and  death. 

There  is  a  vast  amount  of  preventive  and  rescue  work 
which  the  Negroes  themselves  might  do  :  keeping  little 
girls  oflF  the  street  at  night,  stopping  the  escorting  of 
unchaperoned  young  ladies  to  church  and  elsewhere, 
showing  the  dangers  of  the  lodging  system,  urging  the 
buying  of  homes  and  removal  from  crowded  and  tainted 
neighborhoods,  giving  lectures  and  tracts  on  health  and 
habits,  exposing  the  dangers  of  gambling  and  policy- 
playing,  and  inculcating  respect  for  women.  Day-nurseries 
and   sewing-schools,  mothers'    meetings,    the   parks   and 


392  A  Final  Word.  [Chap.  XVHL 

airing  places,  all  these  things  are  little  known  or  appre* 
dated  among  the  masses  of  Negroes,  and  their  attention 
should  be  directed  to  them. 

The  spending  of  money  is  a  matter  to  which  Negroes 
need  to  give  especial  attention.  Money  is  wasted  to-day 
in  dress,  furniture,  elaborate  entertainments,  costly  church 
edifices,  and  "  insurance "  schemes,  which  ought  to  go 
toward  buying  homes,  educating  children,  giving  simple 
healthful  amusement  to  the  young,  and  accumulating 
something  in  the  savings  bank  against  a  "  rainy  day."  A 
crusade  for  the  savings  bank  as  against  the  *'  insurance '' 
society  ought  to  be  started  in  the  Seventh  Ward  without 
delay. 

Although  directly  after  the  war  there  was  great  and 
remarkable  enthusiasm  for  education,  there  is  no  doubt  but 
that  this  enthusiasm  has  fallen  off,  and  there  is  to-day 
much  neglect  of  children  among  the  Negroes,  and  failure 
to  send  them  regularly  to  school.  This  should  be  looked 
into  by  the  Negroes  themselves  and  every  effort  made  to 
induce  full  regular  attendance. 

Above  all,  the  better  classes  of  the  Negroes  should 
recognize  their  duty  toward  the  masses.  They  should  not 
forget  that  the  spirit  of  the  twentieth  century  is  to  be  the 
turning  of  the  high  toward  the  lowly,  the  bending  of 
Humanity  to  all  that  is  human ;  the  recognition  that  in 
the  slums  of  modern  society  lie  the  answers  to  most  of  our 
puzzling  problems  of  organization  and  life,  and  that  only  as 
we  solve  those  problems  is  our  culture  assured  and  our 
progress  certain.  This  the  Negro  is  far  from  recognizing 
for  himself;  his  social  evolution  in  cities  like  Philadel- 
phia is  approaching  a  mediaeval  stage  when  the  centri- 
fugal forces  of  repulsion  between  social  classes  are  be- 
coming more  powerful  than  those  of  attraction.  So  hard 
has  been  the  rise  of  the  better  class  of  Negroes  that 
they  fear  to  fall  if  now  they  stoop  to  lend  a  hand  to 
their  fellows.     This  feeling  is  intensified  by  the  blindness 


Sect  58.]  Tlie  Duty  of  the  Whites.  393 

of  those  outsiders  who  persist  even  now  in  confounding 
the  good  and  bad,  the  risen  and  fallen  in  one  mass. 
Nevertheless  the  Negro  must  learn  the  lesson  that  other 
nations  learned  so  laboriously  and  imperfectly,  that  his 
better  classes  have  their  chief  excuse  for  being  in  the 
work  they  may  do  toward  lifting  the  rabble.  This  is 
especially  true  in  a  city  like  Philadelphia  which  has  so 
distinct  and  creditable  a  Negro  aristocracy ;  that  they  do 
something  already  to  grapple  with  these  social  problems 
of  their  race  is  true,  but  they  do  not  yet  do  nearly  as  much 
as  they  must,  nor  do  they  clearly  recognize  their  responsi- 
biUty. 

Finally,  the  Negroes  must  cultivate  a  spirit  of  calm, 
patient  persistence  in  their  attitude  toward  their  fellow 
citizens  rather  than  of  loud  and  intemperate  complaint 
A  man  may  be  wrong,  and  know  he  is  wrong,  and  yet 
some  finesse  must  be  used  in  telling  him  of  it.  The  white 
people  of  Philadelphia  are  perfectly  conscious  that  their 
Negro  citizens  are  not  treated  fairly  in  all  respects,  but  it 
will  not  improve  matters  to  call  names  or  impute  unworthy 
motives  to  all  men.  Social  reforms  move  slowly  and  yet 
when  Right  is  reinforced  by  calm  but  persistent  Progress 
we  somehow  all  feel  that  in  the  end  it  must  triumph. 

58.  The  Duty  of  the  Whites. — ^There  is  a  tendency  on 
the  part  of  many  white  people  to  approach  the  Negro 
question  from  the  side  which  just  now  is  of  least  pressing 
importance,  namely,  that  of  the  social  intermingling  of 
races.  The  old  query:  Would  you  want  your  sister  to 
marry  a  Nigger?  still  stands  as  a  grim  sentinel  to  stop 
much  rational  discussion.  And  yet  few  white  women  have 
been  pained  by  the  addresses  of  black  suitors,  and  those  who 
have,  easily  got  rid  of  them.  The  whole  discussion  is  little 
less  than  foolish ;  perhaps  a  century  from  to^ay  we  may 
find  ourselves  seriously  discussing  such  questions  of  social 
policy  I  but  it  is  certain  that  just  as  long  as  one  group 
deems  it  a  serious  misalltance  to  marry  with  another  just 


r 


394  A  Final  Word.  [Chap.  XVIII. 

so  long  few  marriages  will  take  place,  and  it'wil]  need 
neither  law  nor  argument  to  guide  human  choice  in  such  a 
matter.  Certainly  the  masses  of  whites  would  hardly 
acknowledge  that  an  active  propaganda  of  repression  was 
necessary  to  ward  off  intermarriage.  Natural  pride  of 
race,  strong  on  one  side  and  growing  on  the  other,  may  be 
trusted  to  ward  off  such  mingling  as  might  in  this  stage  of 
development  prove  disastrous  to  both  races.  All  this  there- 
fore is  a  question  of  the  far-off  future. 

To-day,  however,  we  must  face  the  fact  that  a  natural 
repugnance  to  close  intermingling  with  unfortunate  ex- 
slaves  has  descended  to  a  discrimination  that  very  seriously 
hinders  them  from  being  anything  better.  It  is  right  and 
proper  to  object  to  ignorance  and  consequently  to  ignorant 
men ;  but  if  by  our  actions  we  have  been  responsible  for 
their  ignorance  and  are  still  actively  engaged  in  keeping 
them  ignorant,  the  argument  loses  its  moral  force.  So  with 
the  Negroes :  men  have  a  right  to  object  to  a  race  so  poor 
and  ignorant  and  inefficient  as  the  mass  of  the  Negroes ; 
but  if  their  policy  in  the  past  is  parent  of  umch  of  this 
condition,  and  if  to-day  by  shutting  black  boys  and  girls 
out  of  most  avenues  of  decent  employment  they  are  in- 
creasing pauperism  and  vice,  then  they  must  hold  them- 
selves largely  responsible  for  the  deplorable  results. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  in  Philadelphia  the  centre  and 
kernel  of  the  Negro  problem  so  far  as  the  white  people  are 
concerned  is  the  narrow  opportunities  afforded  Negroes  for 
earning  a  decent  living.  Such  discrimination  is  morally 
wrong,  politically  dangerous,  industrially  wasteful,  and 
socially  silly.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  whites  to  stop  it,  and 
to  do  so  primarily  for  their  own  sakes.  Industrial  freedom 
of  opportunity  has  by  long  experience  been  proven  to  be 
generally  best  for  all.  Moreover  the  cost  of  crime  and 
pauperism,  the  growth  of  slums,  and  the  pernicious  in- 
fluences of  idleness  and  lewdness,  cost  the  public  far  more 
than  would  the  hurt  to  the  feelings  of  a  carpenter  to  work 


Sect  58.]  The  Duty  of  the  Whites.  395 

beside  a  black  man,  or  a  shop-girl  to  stand  beside  a  darker 
mate.  This  does  not  contemplate  the  wholesale  replacing 
of  white  workmen  for  Negroes  out  of  sympathy  or  philan- 
thropy ;  it  does  mean  that  talent  should  be  rewarded,  and 
aptness  used  in  commerce  and  industry  whether  its  owner 
be  black  or  white ;  that  the  same  incentive  to  good,  honest, 
eflfective  work  be  placed  before  a  black  office  boy  as  before 
a  white  one — ^before  a  black  porter  as  before  a  white  one ; 
and  that  unless  this  is  done  the  city  has  no  right  to  com- 
plain that  black  boys  lose  interest  in  work  and  drift  into 
idleness  and  crime.  Probably  a  change  in  public  opinion 
on  this  point  to-morrow  would  not  make  very  much 
diflference  in  the  positions  occupied  by  Negroes  in  the  city : 
some  few  would  be  promoted,  some  few  would  get  new 
places — ^the  mass  would  remain  as  they  are ;  but  it  would 
make  one  vast  diflference :  it  would  inspire  the  young  to 
try  harder,  it  would  stimulate  the  idle  and  discouraged  and 
it  would  take  away  from  this  race  the  omnipresent  excuse 
for  failure :  prejudice.  Such  a  moral  change  would  work 
a  revolution  in  the  criminal  rate  during  the  next  ten  years. 
Even  a  Negro  bootblack  could  black  boots  better  if  he 
knew  he  was  a  menial  not  because  he  was  a  Negro  but 
because  he  was  best  fitted  for  that  work. 

We  need  then  a  radical  change  in  public  opinion  on  this 
point ;  it  will  not  and  ought  not  to  come  suddenly,  but 
instead  of  thoughtless  acquiescence  in  the  continual  and 
steadily  encroaching  exclusion  of  Negroes  from  work  in 
the  city,  the  leaders 'of  industry  and  opinion  ought  to  be 
trying  here  and  there  to  open  up  new  opportunities  and 
give  new  chances  to  bright  colored  boys.  The  policy  of 
the  city  to-day  simply  drives  out  the  best  class  of  young 
people  whom  its  schools  have  educated  and  social  oppor- 
tunities trained,  and  fills  their  places  with  idle  and  vicious 
immigrants.  It  is  a  paradox  of  the  times  that  young  men 
and  women  from  some  of  the  best  Negro  families  of  the 
city — families  bom  and  reared  here  and  schooled  in  the 


A  final  Word.  [Chap.  XVIII. 

best  traditions  of  this  municipility  have  actually  had  to  go 
to  the  South  to  get  work,  if  they  wished  to  be  aught  but 
chambermaids  and  bootblacks.  Not  that  such  work  may 
not  be  honorable  and  useful,  but  that  it  is  as  wrong  to 
make  scullions  of  engineers  as  it  is  to  make  engineers  of 
scullions.  Such  a  situation  is  a  disgrace  to  the  city — a 
disgrace  to  its  Christianity,  to  its  spirit  of  justice,  to  its 
common  sense  ;  what  can  be  the  end  of  such  a  policy  but 
increased  crime  and  increased  excuse  for  crime?  Increased 
poverty  and  more  reason  to  be  poor  ?  Increased  political 
serfdom  of  the  mass  of  black  voters  to  the  bosses  aud 
rascals  who  divide  the  spoils  ?  Surely  here  lies  the  first 
duty  of  a  civilized  city. 

Secondly,  in  their  efforts  for  the  uplifting  of  the  Negro 
the  people  of  Philadelphia  must  recognize  the  existence  of 
the  better  class  of  Negroes  and  must  gain  their  active  aid 
and  co-operation  by  generous  and  polite  conduct.  Social 
sympathy  must  exist  between  what  is  best  in  both  races  and 
there  must  no  longer  be  the  feeling  that  the  Negro  who 
makes  the  best  of  himself  is  of  least  account  to  the  city 
of  Philadelphia,  while  the  vagabond  is  to  be  helped  and 
pitied.  This  better  class  of  Negro  does  not  want  help  or 
pity,  but  it  does  want  a  generous  recognition  of  its  diffi- 
culties, and  a  broad  sympathy  with  the  problem  of  life  as 
it  presents  itself  to  them.  It  is  composed  of  men  and 
women  educated  and  in  many  cases  cultured  ;  with  proper 
co-operation  they  could  be  a  vast  power  in  the  city,  and  the 
only  power  that  could  successfully  cope  with  many  phases 
of  the  Negro  problems.  But  their  active  aid  cannot  be 
gained  for  purely  selfish  motives,  or  kept  by  churlish 
and  ungentle  manners  ;  and  above  all  they  object  to  being 
patronized. 

Again,  the  white  people  of  the  city^must  remember  that 
much  of  the  sorrow  and  bitterness  that  surrounds  the  life 
of  the  American  Negro  comes  from  the  unconscious  preju- 
dice and  half-conscious  actions  of  men  and  women  who  do 


Sect.  58.]  The  Duty  of  the  Whites.  ^     397 

not  intend  to  wound  or  annoy.  One  is  not  compelled  to 
discuss  the  Negro  question  with  every  Negro  one  meets  or 
to  tell  him  of  a  father  who  was  connected  with  the  Under- 
ground Railroad;  one  is  not  compelled  to  stare  at  the 
solitary  black  face  in  the  audience  as  though  it  were  not 
human ;  it  is  not  necessary  to  sneer,  or  be  unkind  or  boor* 
ish,  if^the  Negroes  in  the  room  or  on  the  street  are  not  all 
the  best  behaved  or  have  not  the  most  elegant  manners ;  it 
is  hardly  necessary  to  strike  from  the  dwindling  list  of 
one's  boyhood  and  girlhood  acquaintances  or  school-day 
friends  all  those  who  happen  to  have  Negro  blood,  simply 
because  one  has  not  the  courage  now  to  greet  them  on  the 
street  The  little  decencies  of  daily  intercourse  can  go 
on,  the  courtesies  of  life  be  exchanged  even  across  the 
color  line  without  any  danger  to  the  supremacy  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  or  the  social  ambition  of  the  Negro.  With- 
out doubt  social  differences  are  facts  not  fancies  and  can- 
not lightly  be  swept  aside ;  but  they  hardly  need  to  be 
looked  upon  as  excuses  for  downright  meanness  and 
incivility. 

A  polite  and  sympathetic  attitude  toward  these  striving 
thousands;  a  delicate  avoidance  of  that  which  wounds  and 
embitters  them ;  a  generous  granting  'of  opportunity  to 
them ;  a  seconding  of  their  eflforts,  and  a  desire  to  reward 
honest  success — all  this,  added  to  proper  striving  on  their 
part,  will  go  far  even  in  our  day  toward  making  all  men, 
white  and  black,  realize  what  the  great  founder  of  the 
city  meant,  when  he  named  it  the  City  of  Brotherly  Love. 


APPENDICES, 


(399) 


400 


Appendix  A. 


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402  Appendix  A. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

INVBSTIGATION  INTO  THB  CONDITION  OP  THB  NBGROBS  OP 

Phiiadbi^hia. 
Instructions  for  Family  Schedule, 

A  family  schedule  must  be  made  out  for  every  group 
of  two  or  more  related  persons  living  under  conditions  of 
family  life.  Boarders,  lodgers  and  servants,  are  to  be 
entered  on  separate  individual  schedules.  Hotels,  etc., 
should  be  entered  on  an  institution  schedule,  and  the  in- 
mates on  family  and  individual  schedules. 

Question  i.  Enter  here  the  number  of  persons  in  the  family,  exclusive 
of  lodgers,  boarders,  visitors  or  servants. 

Question  2.  Pacts  for  the  head  of  the  family  should  be  entered  in  the 
first  column,  and  he  or  she  should  be  designated  as  Head^  whether 
man,  woman,  married  or  single.  Give  the  other  members  the  term 
whidi  will  indicate  their  relation  to  the  head;  as  wife,  son,  daughter, 
sister,  etc,  or  mother  {i.  e,  mother  of  head  of  fiimily),  etc. 

Question  3.  Abbreviate  to  M.  (male),  or  P.  (female). 

Question  4.  Give  exact  years,  as,  17,  29,  31,  43,  etc,  and  do  not  say 
**  about  **  25,  30,  35,  40.  Enter  chUdren  less  than  one  year  old  on 
the  ist  of  December,  in  twelfths  of  a  month,  as  6-12,  3-12,  etc.;  or  if 
not  one  month  old,  as  0-12. 

Questions.  Enter  as  married  (mar.),  single  (sing.),  widowed  (wid.). 
and  separatd  (Sep.). 

Question  6.  Give  State  and  town. 

Questions  7  and  8.  Give  approximate  number  of  years. 

Question  11.  This  refers  to  the  children  of  the  family. 

Questions  12  and  13.  Write  **  Graduate— Girls'  High,  '96  ";  or  "Attend- 
ant Institute  for  Colored  Youth,3  yrs.,"  etc.  Schools  higher  than 
common  schools  are  here  referred  to.  Answer  this  for  allmembers 
of  the  familv. 

Questions  14  and  15.  This  is  an  important  inquiry.     Simple  as  it  appears, 

it  is  always  difficult  in  census  work  to  get  satisfactor}-  replies  to  this 

question.     Inaccuracy  and  insufficiency  of  statement  are  the  most 

prominent  evils  to  be  avoided: 

For  instance,  remember:  we  want  to  know  not  what  a  man  '*  works  in,*» 

but  just  what  he  does. 
We  want  to  distinguish  between  :  the  owner  or  director  of  a  business 
and  one  who  works  at  it;  between  waiters  and  head- waiters;  between 
cooks  in  private  families  and  in  hotels;  between  coachmen,  hackmen, 
and  draymen ;  between  merchants  and  pedlars,  and  those  who  keep 
stands. 
£>o  not  say: 

•*  Printer,*'  but  *•  compositor,"  or  "  pressman  ;"  not  **  mechanic,*' 
but  **  carpenter*'  or  "plumber;"  not  "agent,"  but  "real-estate 
agent  ;**  not  "  merchant "  or  "  pedlar,"  but  "  dry-goods  merchant  " 
or  "pedlar— tinware'*;  not  "clerk"  but  "salesman  in  hardware- 
store,"  "stenographer,"  "bookeeper,"  etc. 


Schedules.  403 

Describe  women  who  keep  house  at  home  as  "housewives;**  those 
who  keep  house  for  others  as  *'  housekeepers.'*  If  the  woman  does 
her  own  nouswork,  and  in  addition  pursues  a  gainful  occupation,  as 
dressmaking,  enter:  ** housewife — oressmaker/'  or  "housewife — 
day  *s- work-out  *  * 
Daughters,  etc.,  who  help  with  housework,  should  be  entered: 
**nousework — no  pay/'  Those  who  do  nothing  should  be  entered 
as  **no  occupation.'*  Children,  too  young  to  have  an  occupation, 
should  be  entered  "at  home,"  or  "at  school." 

Question  17.  Answer  only  one  of  these — preferably  one  of  the  first  two. 
Seek  to  approximate  the  truth  as  nearly  as  possible. 

Question  22.  This  refers  to  sickness  that  was  severe  enough  to  interfere 
seriously  with  daily  work. 

Question  23.  Give  the  name  of  the  disease  or  ailment. 

Question  25.  Give  dates  as  nearly  as  possible,  and  addresses. 

Question  26.  Enter  either  the  reason  given  or  the  reason  surmised,  or 
both. 

Question  28.  Give  street  and  number. 

Question  30.  Give  names  of  societies. 

Question  32.  This  question  is  optional,  and  is  only  for  those  who  are  able 
to  give  their  expenditure  in  some  detail.  Fill  only  one  of  the  three 
columns  for  each  particular  item  (^.  g.  r^nt yearly ^  food  weekly ^  etc.) 
and  seek  by  reference  to  written  accounts  to  nuU^e  this  report  accu- 
rate.    Remember  that  income^  expenditure  and  savings  must  balance. 

Question  ^3.  Enter  this  under  one  of  the  following  heads:  A.  Athlet- 
ics (bicycling,  baseball,  etc.).  B.  Music.  C.  Church  entertainments. 
D.  Indoor  games  (cards,  billiards,  etc.).  E.  Balls.  P.  House- 
parties.  G.  Picnics  and  excursions.  H.  Theatres. 
Remember  to  enter  here  the  actual  chief  amusement,  not  merely  the 
one  the  person  likes  best,  but  does  not  often  enjoy. 

Question  35.  Give  relationship  to  head  of  family. 

Where  the  question  only  applies  to  certain  members  of 
the  family,  put  a  cross  in  the  spaces  where  there  are  no 
answers  expected.  Where  no  information  is  given,  put 
"unknown,"  or  ''unanswered." 

Finally,  remember  that  the  information  given  is  confi- 
dential ;  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  will  strictly  guard 
it  as  such,  and  allow  no  one  to  have  access  to  the  schedules 
for  other  than  scientific  purposes.  We  ask,  under  these 
conditions,  careful,  accurate,  and  truthful  answers. 


404 


Appendix  A. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 
Condition  of  the  Negroes  of  Philadei^phia,  Ward  Seven. 

Individual  Schedule^  2, 


Dbcbmbbr  1, 1896.      No.- 


Investigator. 


I 

2 

3 
4 

5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
10 

II 

12 

13 
14 
15 

16 


Relationship  to  head  of  family  ?       

Age  at  nearest  birthday  ?        

Conjugal  condition  ? ... 

Place  of  birth  ?  .    .    .    .  

Length  of  residence  in  Philadelphia  ? 

Leng^  of  residence  in  this  house  ? 

Able  to  read  ? 

Able  to  write  ? 

Months  in  school  during  last  school  year  ?   .       ... 
Graduate  or  attendant  at  any  time  of  any  higher 

school? 

Attendant  of  any  industrial  school  ? 

Occupations  since  November  i,  1891  ? 

Present  occupation  ? 

Place  of  work  ? 

{weekly  ? 
monthly  ? 
yearly  ? 
17    Weeks  unemployed  at  above  occupation  during  last 

twelve  months  ?  

Weeks  employed  at  any  other  occupation  during  last 

twelve  months  ? 

Name  of  such  other  occupation  ?  .    .    .   .  ... 

Average  weekly  earnings  at  such  other  occupation  ?  . 
Number  of  days  sick  during  last  twelve  months? 
Nature  of  illness  ? 

23  I  Sound  and  healthy  in  mind,  sight,  hearing,  speech, 
I  limbs  and  body  ? 

24  j  When  and  where  have  attempts  been  made  to  find 
other  employment? 

Why  was  application  refused  ?  .... 

Amount  of  real  estate  owned  ? 

Situation  of  such  real  estate  ?       

Amount  of  other  property  ? 

Member  of  what  building,  secret,  beneficial  or  insu- 
rance societies,  or  labor  union  ? 

Average  monthly  dues  to  such  societies  ?  .    .    .    . 


18 

19 
20 

21 

22 


2S 
26 

27 
28 

29 


30 
31 


Budget: 

Total  income  for  one  year  ? 

Expenditure  for  one  year  ? 


Expenditure  for  j  W'kly.  Monthly.:  Yearly.      Expenditure  for  ]  W'kly.  Monthly.  Yearly 


Rent  .  . 
Food  .  . 
Fuel  .  . 
Clothing 


Amusements  . 
Tobacco  .... 
Alcoholic  drinks 
Sick's  and  dfh. 
All  other  pur- 
poses    .... 


Total  expenditure  for  one  year  ? 
Total  savings  for  one  year  ? 


32 

33 
34 


Chief  form  of  amusemeut  ? 

Member  or  attendant  of  what  church  ? 

Remarks. 

See  Instructions  for  Family  Schedule,  i. 


Schedules. 


405 


UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 
Condition  op  the  Negroes  of  Philadelphia,  Ward  Seven. 

Home  Schedule^  j. 


Dbcbmbbr  I,  i8g6.       No. 


Investigator. 


I 

2 

3 

4 

5 
6 

7 
8 

9 

ID 
II 

12 

13 

14 

15 
16 

17 
18 

19 
20 

21 

22 


Material  of  house  ? .... 

Stories  in  house  above  basement  ? 

Number  of  homes  in  house  ?     ■    .    .   . 

In  which  story  is  this  home  ? 

Number  of  rooms  in  this  home  ? 

Is  this  home  rented  directly  of  the  landlord  ? 
Number  of  boarders  in  this  home  ?     .    . 

Number  of  lodgers  in  this  home  ? 

Number  of  servants  kept  ?     .   .    .    . 

Total  number  of  persons  in  this  home  ?  .    .    . 

House  owned  by 

Rent  paid  monthly  ?    .   .    .   .  . 

Rent  received  from  sub-letting  ?  .    . 

Bath-room? 

Water-closet?     .       

Privy? 

Yard,  and  size  ? 

Where  is  washing  hung  to  dry  ? 

Light? 

Ventilation  and  air  ? 

Cleanliness  ? 

Outside  sanitary  conditions  ? 


The  Home. 


23 

24 

25 
26 

27 
28 


Use? 

Dimensions?  .   .    .   . 
Outside  windows?    . 

Furniture  ? 

Occupants  at  night? 
Additional  rooms?    . 


Room 
No.  I. 

Room 
No.  a. 

Room 
No.  3. 

Room 
No.  4. 

Room 
No.  5. 

Room 
No.  6. 


29   When  and  where  have  you  had  difficulty  in  renting  houses  ? 


4o6  Appendix  A. 


INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  HOMS  SCHEDULE. 

Every  structure  in  which  persons  live  is  a  dwelling  for  the  purposes  of 
this  investigation,  whether  wholly  so  occupied  or  not  In  each  dwelling 
there  will  be  one  or  more  homes;  for  each  such  home  a  Home  Schedule 
must  be  made  out,  and  at  its  top  the  schedule  number  of  the  correspond- 
ing family  or  individual  inserted. 

Question  4.  If  it  occupies  the  house,  put  *'  whole  house.'' 
Questions  14,  15,  16,  17.  Answer  Yes  or  No.    Note  whether  these  facili- 
ties are  used  by  one  or  more  homes  ? 
Questions  19,  20,  21,  22.  Ansmer  excellent ^  good ^  fair  or  bad. 
Question  26.  This  refers  primarily  to  the  living  room.     Note  the  presence 
of  the  following  articles:  piano,  organ,  parlor-suit,  sewing-machine, 
bookshelves,  couch,  centre-table,  rocking-chair,  etc. 


Schedules. 


407 


UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

COMDinON  OI^  THB  NEGROSS  OV  PHnUU>8IJ>HIA,  WARD  SBVBN. 

House  Servant  Schedule ^  4. 


DBCBMBBR  I,   1896.         No.. 


Investigator. 


I 

a 

3 

4 

5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
10 

II 

la 

13 

14 

15 
16 

17 
18 

19 
ao 

21 

32 

23 

24 

25 
26 

27 


Street  and  number? 

Occnpation  of  employer? 

Sex?.  

Age  at  nearest  birthday  ? 

Conjugal  condition? 

Any  home  in  the  city  ? 

Address  of  same  ? 

Place  of  birth  ? 

Number  of  days  sick  in  last  twelve  months  ?  .   .    .   . 

Nature  of  illness  ?       

Able  to  read  ? 

Able  to  write  ? 

Graduate  or  attendant   at  any  time  of  any  higher 

school?    

Occupations  since  November  i,  1891  ? 

Present  occupation  ? 

Length  of  service  here  ? 

Weekly  earnings? 

Is  board  given  m  addition  to  this?  .  

Is  lodging  given  in  addition  to  this  ?  .   .  ... 

Number  of  hours  free  each  month  ? 

Who  besides  yourself  is  supported  by  your  wages  ?  . 
How  much  is  given  for  this  purpose  weekly  ?  .   .   .   . 

Member  or  attendant  of  what  church  ? 

When  and  where  have  you  attempted  to  get  other 

employment? 

Why  was  application  refused  ? 

What  is  yoxxT  chief  amusement  ? 


Budeet: 

Totid  income  for  one  year: 


Bzpenditure  for 


Clothing  . 
Amofiement 
Lodging  .  . 


W'kly.  Monthly. 


Yearly. 


Bzpenditure  for 


Sickness .... 
Dues  to  Societies 
All    other  pur- 


W*kly. 


Monthly. 


Yearly. 


28 


Total  ex}>en8e  for  one  year? 

Total  savings? 

Amount  of  property  owned  ? 


For  Instructions,  see  Family  Schedule,  i. 


4o8  Appendix  A. 


UNIVERSITY  OP  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Condition  op  thb  Nbgrobs  op  Phiuldblphia,  Ward  Sbvbn. 

Street  Schedule^  5.        Street^  between Streets. 


Dbcxmbbr  1, 1896.  No Inve«tig«tor. 


I 

2 

3 

4 

5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
10 

II 

12 

13 

14 

15 
16 

17 

18 

19 
20 

21 

22 


General  Character? 

Width? 

Paved  with  ? 

Street-car  line  ? 

Character  of  houses  ?^ 

Stories  in  houses  ? 

Material  of  houses  ?  ... 

Proportion  occupied  as  dwellings?  . 
Proportion  of  Whites  to  Blacks  ? 

Nationality  of  White*  ? 

Cleanliness  of  street?  .   .  .    .    . 

Width  of  sidewalks  ? 

Lighted  by  ? 

Hydrants? 

Schools? 

Churches? .    .    .    . 

Saloons  ? 

Pool-rooms? 

Public  institutions  ?  .... 

Public  conveniences  ?  .    .  ... 

Shops  ?     .    .  

Remarks? 


Schedules.  409 


INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  STREET  SCHEDULE. 

A  "  street ''  in  this  Schedule  is  meant  to  designate  not  necessarily  the 
whole  street  which  bears  one  name—as  Lombard  from  river  to  river — but 
rather  such  parts  of  streets  as  have  a  common  character;  thus  four  or  five 
Schedules  would  be  necessary  for  the  distinctive  parts  of  Lombard  Street, 
two  for  Juniper,  several  for  Pine,  one  for  Wetherill. 

I.    Characterize  the  street  concisely;    as,    "respectable  residence 
street,"  or  **  blind  alley  with  tumble-down  brick  houses." 

4.  Answer  by  Yes  or  No, 

5.  Note  whether  the  houses  are  dwellings,  stables,  etc. ,  respectable, 

suspicious,  etc. 
8.     Estimate  carefully;   as  one-third  dwellings,  or  one-half  back 

yards,  etc. 
9  and  10.     Ask  a  policeman,  or  one  or  two  of  the  persons  dwelling 

there.     Do  not  depend  on  your  own  observation,  unless  it 

extends  over  some  time. 
II.    Answer  by  excellent,  good ^  fair ^  or  bad. 

14.  Give  number. 

15.  Give  names. 

16.  Give  number,  names  and  denomination. 
17  and  18.     Give  number. 

19.  This  includes  hospitals,  clubs,  missions,  manufactories.    Note 

clubs  of  all  sorts  carefully,  and  ascertain  their  character  if 
possible.     Enter  all  these  institutions  b^  name. 

20.  This  refers  to  public  water-closets,  baths,  unnals,  and  lavatories, 
a  I.     Give  approximate  distribution  and  character  of  shops. 

22.     Make  here  any  concise  statement  that  will  throw  light  on  the 
street  and  its  inhabitants. 


4IO 


Appendix  A. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 
Condition  oi'  thb  Negroes  oe  Philadblphia,  Ward  Sbvbn. 

Instiiulian  Schedule^  6, 


Dbcbmbbr  I,  1896.      No. 


Investigator. 


I 

a 

3 

4 

5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
10 

II 

12 

13 
14 

15 
16 


Name?     ...  

Street  and  number  ? 

Character? 

Proprietors? 

Number  of  members  or  partners? 
Amount  of  capital  invested  ?    .  . 

Real  estate  owned  ? 

Value  of  same  ? 

Taxes  paid  last  year  on  same  ?  .  . 
Value  of  other  property  ?  .  .  . 
Income  last  twelve  months  ?     .   . 

Source  of  said  income  ? 

Expenditures  last  twelve  months? 
Objects  of  expenditures  ?    .   .   .   . 

History  ? 

Description  and  remarks:  .... 


INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  INSTITUTION  SCHEDULE. 

This  includes  all  institutions  conducted  by  Negroes  wholly  or  partially, 
or  wholly  or  partially  in  the  interest  of  the  Negroes;  as,  e.  g,^  churches, 
missions,  clubs,  shops,  stands,  stores,  agencies,  societies,  associations, 
halls,  newspapers,  etc. 

Find  out  the  object  of  the  enterprise  (philanthropic,  social,  business, 
etc.),  the  capital  invested,  the  property  owned,  taxes  paid,  income  for 
past  twelve  months,  character  and  amount  of  expenditure,  sort  of  quar- 
ters occupied,  and  persons  connected,  etc.,  aiming,  in  all  cases,  to  collect 
essential  facts. 

Especially  try  and  find  out  whether  the  enterprise  is  that  of  one  per- 
son, of  a  partnership,  or  is  a  co-operative  enterprise  among  a  large  num- 
ber. If  in  any  degree  co-operative,  bring  out  the  extent,  character  and 
objects  of  the  co-operation. 


LIBRARY  OF  THE 
LELAfJD  81AMF0RD  JR.  UtJIVERSITY, 


APPENDIX  B. 

LEGISLATION,   ETC,  OF    PENNSYLVANIA    IN    REGARD  TO 

THE  NEGRO. 

1682.  Negro  Serfdom  Recognized.  The  charter  of  the  Free 
Society  of  Traders  of  Pennsylvania  recognizes  the  slavery  of 
Blacks.  Slaves  were  to  be  freed  after  fourteen  years  of  service, 
upon  condition  that  they  cultivate  land  allotted  to  them,  and 
surrender  two-thirds  of  the  produce  annually. — Hazard's  An- 
nals (Ed.  1850),  553. 

1693,  J^ly  II*  Tumults  of  Slaves,  Action  of  City  Council 
of  Philadelphia  against  tumults  by  slaves. — Penna.  Col.  Rec, 
I,  380-81. 

1700.  Slave  Marriages.  Penn  proposes  a  bill  regulating 
slave  marriages;  bill  is  lost  in  Council. — Bettle,  368;  Thomas, 
266. 

1700,  November  27.  Trial  of  Slaves.  **An  Act  for  the 
Trial  of  Negroes."  Introduced  by  Penn.  This  act  provided 
that  Negroes  accused  of  high  crime  should  be  tried  by  two 
justices  of  the  peace  and  six  freeholders;  rape  of  white  women 
to  be  punished  by  death,  and  attempts  by  castration;  Negroes 
were  not  to  carry  arms  without  special  license;  over  four  Ne- 
groes meeting  together  on  Sundays  or  other  days  *'upon  no 
lawful  business  of  their  masters  or  owners  "  were  to  be  whipped. 
— Statutes-at- Large,  ch.  56.     (Disallowed  January  7,  1706.) 

1700,  November  27.  Traffic  ivith  Slaves.  *'  An  Act  for  the 
Better  Regulation  of  Servants  in  this  Province  and  Territories." 
Traffic  with  slaves  forbidden,  among  other  things. — Statutes- 
at- Large,  ch.  49. 

1700,  November  27.  Duty  on  Slaves.  ''An  Act  for  Grant- 
ing an  Impost  upon  Wines,  Rum,  Beer,  Ale,  Cider,  etc. ,  Im- 
ported, Retorted  and  Sold  in  this  Province  and  Territories." 
§2.  .  .  .  ''for  every  Negro,  male  or  female,  imported,  if 
above  sixteen  years  of  age,  twenty  shillings;  for  every  Negro 
under  the  age  of  sixteen,  six  shillings. — Statutes-at-Large, 
ch.  85. 

(411) 


412  Appendix  B. 

1706,  January  12.     Duty  on  Slaves.     **An  Act  for  Raising  a 

Supply "     Imported   Negroes,  except   those  who 

lived  at  least  two  years  in  Jersey,  405.  (or  105.  ?)  per  head. — 
Statu tes-at-Large,  ch.  164. 

1706,  January  12.  Trial  of  Negroes.  **An  Act  for  the  Trial 
of  Negroes.'*  Practically  the  same  as  the  Act  of  1700;  attempt 
to  rape  and  robbery  of  ;^5  or  more,  punished  by  branding  and 
exportation. — Statutes-at- Large,  ch.  143.  (Repealed  by  Act  of 
1780,  q.  V.) 

1708.  Protest  to  Legislature.  Protest  of  Mechanics  against 
hiring  out  of  Negroes. — Scharf-Wescott :  History  of  Phila- 
delphia, I,  200. 

1 7 10,  December  28.  Duty  Ad.  **  An  Impost  Act,  laying  a 
Duty  on  Negroes.  .  .  .*' — 40^.  on  Negroes  imported. — 
Carey  and  Bioren,  I,  82. 

171 1,  February  28.  Duty  Act.  **  An  Impost  Act,  laying  a 
Duty  on  Negroes.  .  .  .*'  40^.  on  Negroes  not  imported  for 
importers  own  use. — Statutes-at- Large,  ch.  181.  (Disallowed 
20  February,  1714.) 

1712,  Petition  for  Emancipation.  Petition  of  Southeby  for 
Abolition  of  Slavery. — DuBois*  Slave  Trade,  p.  22. 

17 1 2.     Negro  Plot.     Negro  plot  in  New  York. — Ibid. 

17 1 2,  June  II.  Duty  Act.  *'  A  Supplementary  Act  to.  .  ." 
the  Act  of  1810. — Carey  and  Bioren,  I,  87-88.  (Disallowed 
in  1713.) 

1712,  June7.     Prohibitory  Duty  Act.     **  An  Act  to  Prevent 
the  Importation  of  Negroes  and  Indians  into  this  Province." 
;^20    prohibitory    duty    laid  on  slaves  imported,   because  of 
their  plots  and  insurrections. — Statutes-at- Large,  ch.  192.     Cf. 
DuBois'  Slave  Trade,  p.  22.     (Disallowed  17 13.) 

1 7 13.  Assiento  Treaty.  Contract  for  importing  slaves  into 
Spanish  West  Indies  signed  by  Great  Britain. — DuBois'  Slave 
Trade,  pp.  207-9. 

17 15,  May  28.  Duty  Act.  **  An  Act  for  Laying  a  Duty  on 
Negroes  Imported  into  this  Province."  /^^  duty  ;  slaves  of 
immigrants  not  to  be  sold  for  a  year. — Statutes-at- Large,  III, 
121.     (Disallowed  21  July,  1719.) 

1718,  February  22.  Duty  Act.  ''  An  Act  for  Continuing  a 
Duty  on  Negroes.  .  .  ."  £s  duty;  slaves  of  immigrants 
not  to  be  sold  for  16  months. — Statutes- at-Large,  III,  164. 


Legislation^  etc,  413 

1 72 1,  February  24.  Duty  Act,  **  An  Act  for  Continuing 
several  Acts.  .  .  .*'  Act  of  17 18  continued. — Statutes-at 
I^rge,  III,  238. 

1 72 1,  August  21.  Traffic  with  Negroes,  **  A  Supplementary 
Act  to  a  Law.  .  .  .**  On  Public  Houses.  No  liquors  to 
be  sold  Negroes  or  Indians  without  leave. — Statutes-at- Large, 
III,  250. 

1 72 1,  August  26.  Police  Regtdation,  *'An  Act  for  Pre- 
venting Accidents  that  May  Happen  by  Fire.'*  Slaves  shoot- 
ing squibs  or  guns  in  Philadelphia  without  license  to  be 
whipped. — Statutes-at-Large,  III,  254. 

1722,  May  12.  Duty  Act,  **  An  Act  for  Laying  a  Duty  on 
Negroes.  .  .  ."  jQs  cluty,  as  in  1718. — Statutes-at-Large, 
IIL  275. 

1722.  Petition  of  White  Laborers,  Laborers  petition  Gen- 
eral Assembly  against  employment  of  Blacks.  Assembly 
resolves:  That  the  principle  is  dangerous  and  injurious  to  the 
republic  and  not  to  be  sanctioned. — Watson's  Annals,  I,  98. 

1726,  March  5.  Duty  Act,  **An  Act  for  Laying  a  Duty 
on  Negroes.  .  .  ,'"  Act  of  1722  continued  from  1726  to 
1729. — Statutes-at-Large,  IV,  52. 

1726,  March  26.  Status  of  Negroes  Defined,  **An  Act 
for  the  Better  Regulation  of  Negroes  in  this  Province.*' 

**  Whereas,  it  often  happens  that  Negroes  commit  felonies 
and  other  heinous  crimes,  which  by  the  laws  of  this  Province 
are  punishable  by  death,  but  the  loss  of  such  cases  falling 
wholly  on  the  owner,  is  so  great  a  hardship  that  sometimes 
may  induce  him  to  conceal  such  crimes,  or  convey  his  Negro 
to  some  other  place  and  so  sufiFer  him  to  escape  justice  to  the 
ill  example  of  others  to  commit  like  offences. 

'*  Be  it  resolved,  etc.,  That  Negroes  convicted  of  capital  crime 
be  valued  and  paid  for  out  of  money  collected  as  duty  on  their 
importation.*'     .     .     . 

§  III.  **  Whereas,  free  Negroes  are  an  idle  and  slothful  peo- 
ple and  often  prove  burdensome  to  the  neighborhood  and 
afford  ill  examples  to  other  Negroes.  Therefore,  Be  it  enacted 
that  if  any  master  or  mistress  shall  discharge  or  set  free  any 
Negro,  he  or  she  shall  enter  into  recognizance  with  suflScient 
securities  in  the  sum  of  ;^30  to  indemnify  the  county  for  any 
charge  or  incumbrance  they  may  bring  upon  the  same  in  case 


414  Appendix  B. 

such  Negro,  through  sickness  or  otherwise,  be  rendered  incap- 
able of  self-support.'* 

In  case  of  freedom  by  will,  the  executor  or  administrator 
was  required  to  give  the  bond,  or  such  slaves  should  not  be 
regarded  as  free. 

Any  Negro  becoming  free  under  age,  21,  might  be  bound  to 
service  until  of  age. 

The  Act  further  provided  penalties  for  the  harboring  of 
Negroes  by  each  other;  for  trading  or  dealing  with  each  other 
without  license — all  on  pain  of  being  sold  into  slavery  if  unable 
to  pay  fine;  also  provided  penalty  of  ;^ioo  for  anybody  who 
should  marry  a  Negro  and  white  person;  £y>  for  Negro 
caught  living  in  marriage  relation  with  white  person,  in  such 
cases  Negro  to  be  sold  into  slavery  for  life. 

§  XI  of  Act  iprohibited  masters,  etc.,  from  allowing  Negro 
slaves  to  hire  their  own  time. 

One  section  also  imposed  a  duty  of  ;^io  on  imported 
slaves. — Statutes-at-Large,  IV,  59. 

1729,  May  10.  Duty  Ad.  **  An  Act  for  Laying  a  Duty  on 
Negroes  Imported  into  this  Province.**  £2  duty. — Statutes- 
at-Large,  IV,  128. 

1732,  April  17.  Slave  Tumults,  Philadelphia  Council  order 
Ordinance  drawn  to  prevent  tumults  of  slaves  on  Sundays. — 
Watson* s  Annals,  I,  62. 

1738,  July  3.  Slave  Tumulis,  Draft  of  Ordinance  to  sup- 
press tumults  of  slaves  considered  in  Philadelphia  City  Coun- 
cil.— Ibid,,  I,  62. 

1 741,  August  17.  Tumults  of  Negroes,  Order  made  by 
Philadelphia  City  Councils  to  suppress  disorders  of  Negroes 
and  others  on  court  house  square  at  night. — Watson's  Annals, 
I,  62-63. 

1 76 1,  March  14.  Duty  Act,  **  An  Act  for  Laying  a  Duty  on 
Negro  and  Mulatto  Slaves  imported  into  this  province.**  ;^io 
duty?  Continued  in  1768;  repealed  in  1780. — Carey  and  Bioren, 

I,  371,  451- 

1 76 1,  April  22.     Duty  Act,     **  A  Supplement  to.    ...    " 

the  Act  of  1^61,— Ibid,,  371,  451. 

1768,  February  20.  Duty  Act,  Acts  of  1761  re-enacted. — 
Dallas,  I,  490. 

1773,    February  26.      Duty  Act,      **An   Act   for   Making 


Legislation^  etc.  415 

Perpetual  the  Act.    .     .     .  "   of  1761.      Additional  ;^io  duty 
provided  for. — Dallas,  I,  671. 

1775,  Bill  an  Importation.  Bill  to  prohibit  importation  of 
slaves  vetoed  by  Governor. — Bettle. 

1778,  September  7.  Recovery  of  Duties.  **  An  Act  for  the 
Recovery  of  the  Duties  on  Negro  and  Mulatto  Slaves.  .  .  . " 
— Dallas,  I,  782. 

1779,  February  5.  Plan  of  Emancipation.  Supreme  Ex- 
ecutive Council  recommends  a  plan  of  gradual  emancipation  to 
Assembly. 

1780,  March  i.  Slavery  Abolished.  **  An  Act  for  the  Grad- 
ual Abolition  of  Slavery.** 

§1,2.    General  condemnation  of  slavery. 

§  3.    No  child  bom  hereafter  in  Pennsylvania  to  be  a  slave. 

§  4.  Children  of  slaves  born  hereafter  to  be  bound  to  service 
until  twenty-eight  years  of  age. 

§  5.     All  slaves  to  be  registered. 

§  7.     Negroes  to  be  tried  for  crime  like  other  inhabitants. 

§  10.     None  to  be  slaves  except  those  registered. 

§  14.  Acts  of  1725,  1761  and  1773  repealed. — Carey  and 
Bioren,  ch.  881. 

1786.  Petition  for  Potter^ s  Field.  Petition  of  Philadelphia 
Negroes  to  Council  for  leave  to  enclose  Potter*  s  Field  as  a 
Negro  burial  ground. — Penna.  Col.  Rec.  XIV,  637. 

1788,  March  29.  Act  of  1780  Amended.  **  An  Act  to  Ex- 
plain and  Amend  an  Act  Entitled  '  An  Act  for  the  Gradual 
Abolition  of  Slavery.*  ** 

§  2.    Slaves  of  immigrants  to  be  free. 

§  3.  Slaves  not  to  be  removed  from  without  their  consent 
given  before  two  justices. 

§  4.  Persons  possessed  of  children  liable  to  serve  till  twenty- 
eight  years  old  must  register  them. 

§  5.     Slave  trading  forbidden  under  penalty  and  forfeiture. 

§  6.  Slaves  serving  for  a  term  of  years  not  to  be  separated 
from  parents. — Carey  and  Bioren,  ch.  394. 

1790,  September  2.  Negro  Suffrage.  Constitution  of  Penn- 
sylvania. Art.  Ill,  Sec.  i.  In  elections  by  the  citizens,  every 
freeman  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  having  resided  in  the 
State  two  years  next  before  the  election,  and  within  that  time 
paid  a  State  or  county  tax,  which  shall  have  been  assessed  at 


4i6  Appendix  B, 

least  six  months  before  the  election,  shall  enjoy  the  rights  of 
an  elector. — Pardon's  Digest,  6th  ed. 

1793,  April  II.  Duty  on  Slaves.  **  An  Act  to  Establish  a 
Board  of  Wardens  for  the  Port  of  Philadelphia.     .     .     .  *' 

§  22.  Of  passengers  entering  port  only  slaves  to  pay  head 
money. — Carey  and  Bioren,  ch.  178. 

1800.  Petition  to  Congress.  Petition  of  Negroes  to  Legisla- 
ture and  Congress  against  slave-trade. — DuBois'  Slave-Trade, 
p.  81-83. 

1 82 1,  April.  Act  vs.  Pauperism.  **  An  Act  to  Prevent  the 
Increase  of  Pauperism  in  the  Commonwealth.'* 

§  I.  If  any  black  indentured  servant  over  twenty-eight 
years  of  age  is  brought  into  the  State,  his  master  is  liable  for  his 
charge  if  he  becomes  a  pauper. — Laws  of  Penna.,  1821. 

1826,  March  25.  Act  vs.  Kidnapping.  **An  Act  to  Give 
EfiFect  to  the  Provisions  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
Relative  to  Fugitives  from  Labor,  for  the  Protection  of  the  Free 
People  of  Color,  and  to  prevent  Kidnapping.'* 

§  I.  Fine  of  $50o-$2ooo  and  imprisonment  seven  to  twenty- 
one  years  for  kidnapping. 

§  2.  Aiding  and  abetting  punished. 

§§  3~^«  Claimed  fugitives  to  be  arrested  on  warrant  and  taken 
before  a  judge.  Oath  of  alleged  owner  or  of  interested  per- 
sons not  received  as  evidence. — Laws  of  Penna.,  1826.  Cf 
Prigg  vs.  Penna.,  16  Peters,  500,  U.  S.  Reports. 

1827,  April  17.  Sales  of  Fugitives.  **An  Act  to  Prevent 
Certain  Abuses  of  the  Laws  Relative  to  Fugitives  from  Labor." 
No  sales  of  fugitive  slaves  to  be  made  in  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania.— Laws  of  Penna.,  1827. 

1832.  Restriction  on  Immigration.  Bill  in  Legislature  to 
make  free  Negroes  carry  passes.     Cf ,  p.  27. 

1837,  July.  Negro  Suffrage.  Pennsylvania  Supreme  Court 
at  Sunbury ;  case  of  Hobbs  et  al.  vs.  Fogg.  Judgment  of  Com- 
mon Pleas  Court  reversed  and  Negro  declared  not  a  **  free- 
man "  in  the  meaning   of  Constitution. — Penna.  Reports,  6 

Watts,  553-60- 

1838.  Negro  Suffrage.  Revised  Constitution  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Art.  Ill,  Sec.  i.  **In  elections  by  the  citizens,  every 
white  freeman  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  having  resided 
in  this  State  one  year,  and  in  the  election  district  where  he 


Legislation^  etc,  417 

offers  to  vote  ten  days  immediately  preceding  such  election,  and 
^  within  two  years  paid  a  State  or  county  tax,  which  shall  have 
been  assessed  at  least  ten  days  before  the  election,  shall  enjoy 
the  right  of  an  elector.'* — Purdon*s  Digest,  Sixth  Ed. 

1854,  May  8.  **  An  Act  for  the  Regulation  and  Continuance 
of  a  System  of  Education  by  Common  Schools.'* 

The  Controllers  and  Directors  of  the  several  school  districts 
of  the  State  are  hereby  authorized  and  required  to  establish 
within  their  respective  districts  separate  schools  for  Negro  and 
Mulatto  children  wherever  such  schools  can  be  located  so  as  to 
accommodate  twenty  or  more  pupils;  and  wherever  such 
schools  shall  be  established  and  kept  open  four  months  in 
every  year  the  Directors  and  Controllers  shall  not  be  compelled 
to  admit  such  pupils  into  any  other  schools  of  the  district. — 
Laws  of  Penna.,  1854. 

1863,  March  6.  Immigration,  Petition  against  immigration 
of  freedmen  to  Pennsylvania  denied  by  Senate  committee  of 
Legislature. — Pamphlet,  Phila.  Library. 

1867.  Separate  Seats  in  Cars,  Pennsylvania  Supreme 
Court;  case  of  West  Chester  and  Philadelphia  Co.  vs.  Miles. 
Held  that  separation  of  Negroes  to  assigned  seats  for  good 
order,  is  not  illegal  on  railways,  etc. — Penna.  Reports,  5  Smith, 
209. 

1867,  March  22.  Civil  Rights,  Negroes  to  have  same  rights 
on  railway  cars  as  white  citizens. — Brightley's  Purdon,  Eleventh 
Ed.,  1436. 

1870,  April  6.  Negro  Suffrage,  §  10  of  Act  says  :  **  That 
so  much  of  every  Act  of  Assembly  as  provides  that  only  white 
freemen  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  or  to  register  as  voters,  or  as 
claiming  to  vote,  at  any  general  or  special  election  in  this 
Commonwealth,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  repealed  ;  and  that 
hereafter  all  freemen,  without  distinction  of  color,  shall  be  en- 
rolled and  registered  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  act  ap- 
proved April  17,  1869." — Laws  of  Penna.,  1870. 

1874.  Negro  Suffrage,  New  Constitution  removes  restric- 
tions as  to  color. 

1874,  April  ID.  Civil  Rights,  Pennsylvania  Supreme  Court; 
case  of  Drew  vs.  Peer.  Damages  given  Negroes  for  ejectment 
from  a  theatre. — 12  Norris,  234. 

1878,  March  15.  Civil  Rights,  Pennsylvania  Supreme 
27 


4i8  Appendix  B. 

Court;  case  of  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey  vs.  Green  and 
wife.  Damages  granted  for  compelling  Negroes  to  go  from  one 
car  to  another  on  railway. — Penna.  Reports,  5  Norris,  421,  427. 

1881,  June  8.  Mixed  Schools,  §  i.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for 
any  school  director,  superintendent,  or  teacher  to  make  any 
distinction  whatever  on  account  of,  or  by  reason  of,  the  race  or 
color  of  any  pupil  or  scholar  who  may  be  in  attendance  upon 
or  seeking  admission  to,  any  public  or  common  school  main- 
tained wholly  or  in  part  under  the  school  laws  of  the  common- 
wealth.— Brightley's  Purdon,  Eleventh  ed.,  p.  292. 

1887,  May  19.  Civil  Rights,  **An  Act  to  Provide  Civil 
Rights  for  all  People,  Regardless  of  Race  or  Color."  **§  i.  ^^  U 
enacted^  etc,^  that,  any  person,  company,  corporation,  being 
owner,  lessee  or  manager  of  any  restaurant,  hotel,  railroad, 
street  railway,  omnibus  line,  theatre,  concert  hall  or  place  of 
entertainment  or  amusement,  who  shall  refuse  to  accommodate, 
convey  or  admit  any  person  or  persons  on  account  of  race  or 
color  over  their  lines  or  into  their  hotel  or  restaurant,  theatre,  con- 
cert hall  or  place  of  amusement,  shall  upon  conviction  thereof 
be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not 
less  than  fifty  or  more  than  one  hundred  dollars." — I^aws  of 
Penna.,  1887,  pp.  130-31. 

1895,  J^ly  2.  Life  Insurance,  Life  insurance  companies  are 
not  allowed  to  make  any  discriminations  as  to  premiums,  divi- 
dends, or  otherwise,  between  insured  of  the  same  class  and  ex- 
pectation of  life. — Penna.  Laws,  1895,  P-  432. 


APPENDIX  C. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

/.  General  Works. 

Publications  of  Atlanta  University  : 

No.  I.  Mortality  Among  Negroes  in  Cities. 

No.  2.  Social  and  Physical  Condition  of  Negroes. 

No.  3.  EflForts  of  Negroes  for  Social  Betterment. 

— Atlanta,  Ga.,  1896-98. 

Edward  Settle.  Notices  of  Negro  Slavery  as  Connected 
with  Pennsylvania.    In  Mem.  Hist.  Soc.  of  Pennsylvania,  I. 

Charles  Booth.  Life  and  Labour  of  the  People.  London, 
1892. 

M.  Carey  and  J.  Bioren.  Laws  of  Pennsylvania,  1700-1802. 
Philadelphia,  1803. 

A.  J.  Dallas.  Laws  of  Pennsylvania,  1 700-1 781.  Philadel- 
phia. 1797. 

W.  E.  Burghardt  DuBois.  Suppression  of  the  Slave  Trade. 
New  York,  1896. 

The  Study  of  the  Negro  Problems.    Annals  of  the 

Amer.  Acad,  of  Pol.  and  Soc.  Science.     Philadelphia,  1898. 

The  Negroes  of  Farmville,  Va.     (U.  S.  Bureau 

of  Labor  Bulletin,  January,  1898.) 

[Benjamin  Franklin.]  An  Essay  on  the  African  Slaye 
Trade.     Philadelphia,  1790. 

[Friends.]  Germantown  Friends*  Protest  Against  Slavery, 
1688.     (Facsimile  copy)  Philadelphia,  1880. 

[Friends.]  The  Appeal  of  the  Religious  Society  of  Friends 
in  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  etc.  ...  on  behalf  of  the 
Colored  Races.     Philadelphia,  1858. 

[Friends.]  A  Brief  Statement  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of 
the  Testimony  of  the  Religious  Society  of  Friends  against 
Slavery  and  the  Slave  Trade.     Philadelphia,  1843. 

Samuel  Hazard.  The  Register  of  Pennsylvania.  Phila- 
delphia, 1828-36. 

(419) 


420  Appendix  C, 

Hull  House  Maps  and  Papers.     New  York,  1895. 

Samuel  M.  Janney.  History  of  the  Religious  Society  of 
Friends.     Philadelphia,   1859-67. 

Walter  Laidlaw,  Editor.  The  Federation  of  Churches  and 
Christian  Workers  in  New  York  City.  First  and  Second 
Sociological  Canvasses.     New  York,  1 896-1 897. 

Marion  J.  McDougal.     Fugitive  Slaves.     Boston,  1891. 

Edward  Needles.  An  Historical  Memoir  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Society  for  Promoting  the  Abolition  of  Slavery.  Phila- 
delphia, 1848. 

William  C.   Nell.     Services  of   Colored  Americans  in  the 
Wars  of  1776  and  18 12.     Reprinted,  Philadelphia,  1894. 
.  Statutes-at-Large  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  Philadelphia. 

Pennsylvania  Colonial  Records.     Philadelphia. 

Robert  Proud.  History  of  Pennsylvania.  Philadelphia* 
1797-98. 

R.  Mayo-Smith.    Statistics  and  Sociology.    New  York,  1896. 

Allen  Clapp  Thomas.  The  Attitude  of  the  Society  of 
Friends  toward  Slavery,  etc.  (Reprinted  from  Vol.  VIII, 
American  Society  of  Church  History.)     New  York,  1897. 

Census  of  the  United  States,  First  to  the  Eleventh.  Wash- 
ington, 1 790- 1 898. 

George  W.  Williams.  History  of  the  Negro  Race  in  Amer- 
ica from  1 61 9  to  1880.     New  York,  1883. 

Joseph  T.  Willson.     The  Black  Phalanx.     Hartford,  1889. 

Carroll  D.  Wright.  Slums  of  Great  Cities.  Seventh  Special 
Report  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor.  Washing- 
ton, 1894. 


//.  Books  and  Pamphlets  Relating  to  Philadelphia  Negroes. 

Benjamin  C.  Bacon.  Statistics  of  the  Colored  People  of 
Philadelphia.     Philadelphia,  1856. 

Ibid.,  Second  Edition,  with  Statistics  of  Crime. 

Philadelphia,  1859. 

A  Brief  History  of  the  Movement  to  Abolish  the  Slums  of 
Philadelphia.     Philadelphia.    (Pam.) 

Collection  of  Reports  of  Charitable  Institutions  for  Colored 
Persons.     Philadelphia.    (Ridgeway  Library.) 


Bibliography.  42 1 

Colored  Enlistments.  Philadelphia.  (Pam.  Philadelphia 
Library  Co.) 

Colored  People  in  Philadelphia.  Philadelphia.  (Pam.  Phila- 
delphia Library  Co.) 

Colored  Regiments.  Philadelphia.  (Pam.  Philadelphia 
Library  Co.) 

Education  and  Employment  Statistics  of  the  Colored  People 
of  Philadelphia.     (MS.  in  Library  of  Historical  Association.) 

Dr.  E.  O.  Emerson.  Vital  Statistics  of  Philadelphia  (in 
American  Journal  of  Medical  Sciences,  July,  1848.) 

[Friends.]  A  Brief  Sketch  of  the  Schools  for  Black  People 
and  Their  Descendants  Established  by  the  Religious  Society  of 
Friends,  in  1770.     Philadelphia,  1867. 

A.  Mott.  Biography  of  Colored  People.  Philadelphia. 
(Pam.  Philadelphia  Library  Co.) 

Edward  Needles.  Ten  Years*  Progress,  or  a  Comparison  of 
the  State  and  Condition  of  the  Colored  People  in  the  City  and 
County  of  Philadelphia  from  1837  to  1847.    Philadelphia,  1849. 

Daniel  A.  Payne.  History  of  the  A.  M.  E.  Church.  Nash- 
ville, 1 89 1. 

Report  of  the  Committee  Appointed  for  the  Purpose  of 
Securing  to  Colored  People  in  Philadelphia  the  Right  to  the 
use  of  the  Street  Cars.     Philadelphia,  1865.     (Pam.) 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Comparative  Health,  Mor- 
tality, Length  of  Sentences,  etc.,  of  White  and  Colored  Con- 
victs.    Philadelphia,  1849. 

Frederick  W.  Spiers.  The  Street  Railway  System  of  Phila- 
delphia, etc.  Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies.  Ser.  15, 
Nos.  3-5.     Baltimore,  1897. 

The  Present  State  and  Condition  of  the  Free  People  of 
Colour  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia  and  Adjoining  Districts,  etc. 
Philadelphia,  1838. 

A  Statistical  Inquiry  into  the  Condition  of  the  People  of 
Color  of  the  City  and  Districts  of  Philadelphia.  Philadelphia, 
1849. 

Trades  of  the  Colored  People.     Philadelphia,  1838. 

John  F.  Watson.  Annals  of  Philadelphia.  Philadelphia, 
1830. 

A.  W.  Wayman.  My  Recollections  of  A.  M.  E.  Ministers. 
Philadelphia,  1882. 


422  Appendix  C. 

Why  Colored  People  in  Philadelphia  Are  Excluded  from  the 
Street  Cars.     Philadelphia,  1866.     (Pam.  Two  Editions.) 

[John  Woolman.]  Considerations  on  Keeping  Negroes. 
Philadelphia,  1784. 

///.     Books  and  Pamphlets  Written  by  Philadelphia  Negroes. 

Act  of  Incorporation,  Causes  and  Motives  of  the  African 
Episcopal  Church  of  Philadelphia.     Philadelphia,  1810. 

Richard  Allen.  (First  Bishop  of  A.  M.  E.  Church.)  The 
Life,  Experience  and  Gospel  Labours  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Richard 
Allen,  etc.     Written  by  himself.     Philadelphia,  1833. 

Richard  Allen  and  Jacob  Tapsico.  The  Doctrine  and  Discip- 
line of  the  A.  M.  B.  Church.     Philadelphia,  1819. 

Matthew  Anderson.  Presbyterianism  and  Its  Relation  to 
the  Negro.    Philadelphia,  1897. 

Appeal  of  Forty  Thousand  Colored  Citizens,  Threatened  with 
Disfranchisement,  to  the  People  of  Pennsylvania.  Philadel- 
phia, 1838.     (Pam.) 

Jeremiah  Asher.     Autobiography.     Philadelphia,  1862. 

E.  D.  Bassett.     Handbook  on  Hayti.     Philadelphia. 

J.  J^  G.  Bias.    Synopsis  of  Phrenology.    Philadelphia,  1859. 

Lorenzo  Blackson.     Autobiography.     Philadelphia,  1861. 

C.  H.  Brooks.  Manual  and  Histor>-  of  the  Grand  United 
Onier  of  Ovid  Fellows.     360  pp.     Philadelphia,  1864. 

RolKTt  Campbell.  A  Pilgrimage  to  My  Motherland;  an  Ac- 
count of  a  Journey  among  the  Egbas  and  Yorubas  of  Central 
Africa.     Philadelphia,  1S61. 

W.  Y.  Catto.  Histor\' of  the  Presbvterian  Movement.  Phil- 
adelphia,  1858. 

Levi  J.  Coffin.  The  Relation  of  Baptized  Children  to  the 
Church.     Philadelphia.  1890.     106  pp. 

Martin  Robinson  Delaney.  Condition,  Elevation,  Emigration 
anvi  Destiny  of  the  Colored  People  of  the  United  States,  etc. 
Philadelphia,  i8«;2. 

William  Douglass,  Sermons  Preached  in  the  African  Prot- 
estant Ep'.scopval  Church  of  St.  Thomas'.  Philadelphia.  Phila- 
delphia. 1854. 

Williani  IX^ugla&s.  Annals  of  St-  Thomas'  Church.  Phil- 
adelphia, i86i. 


Bibliography,  423 

John  S.  Durham.  To  Teach  the  Negro  History.  Philadel- 
phia, 1898. 

Frances  E.  W.  Harper.  Miscellaneous  Poems.  Boston, 
1854. 

.     Forest  Leaves.     Baltimore,  1855. 

.     lola    Leroy:    A     Novel.    Third    Edition. 

Philadelphia,  1892.     280  pp. 

Absalom  Jones.  A  Thanksgiving  Sermon.  .  .  .  On 
Account  of  the  Abolition  of  the  Afirican  Slave  Trade,  etc. 
Philadelphia,  1808.     (Pam.) 

Robert  Jones.  Fifty  Years  in  the  Lombard  Street  Central 
Presbyterian  Church.     Philadelphia,  1894.     170  pp. 

H.  T.  Johnson.    The  Divine  Logos.     Philadelphia,  1890. 

Jarena  Lee.    Journal.     Philadelphia,  1849. 

.   The  Color  of  Solomon.    Philadelphia,  1895. 

93  pp. 

Minutes  of  the  First  Annual  Convention  of  the  People  of 

Colour.     Philadelphia,  1831.     (Pam.) 

Minutes  of  Third  Annual  Convention  of  Free  Negroes. 
Philadelphia,  1833.     (Pam.) 

Mrs.  N.  T.  Mossell.  The  Work  of  Afro- American  Women. 
Philadelphia,  1894.     178  pp. 

Proceedings  of  Convention  of  Colored  Freemen  of  Pennsyl- 
vania.    Philadelphia.     (Pam.) 

Robert  Purvis.  Remarks  on  the  Life  and  Character  of  James 
Forten.     (Pam.) 

William  Still.  The  Underground  Railroad.  Philadelphia, 
1872.     780  pp. 

Benjamin  T.  Tanner.  An  Apology  for  African  Methodism. 
Baltimore,  1867.    468  pp. 

.     Theological    Lectures.    Nashville,    1894. 

185  pp. 
.     An  Outline  of  History  and  Government  for 

A.  M.  E.  Churchmen.     Philadelphia,  1884.     206  pp. 

[Joseph  Willson.]   Sketches  of  the  Higher  Classes  of  Colored 

Society  in  Philadelphia.     Philadelphia,  1841. 


LIBRARY  OF  THE 
LEi^i^^  8IA?JF0RD  JR.  UNIVERSITY. 


SPECIAL  REPORT 


ON 


Negro  Domestic  Service 

In  the  Seventh  Ward 

Philadelphia 


BY 

ISABEL  EATON.  A.  M. 

Ftlloa  of  th*  Collfgt  StttUnunts  AssocMion 


I. 


INTRODUCTION. 


This  paper  is  an  attempt  to  give  the  most  accurate  facts- 
obtainable  bearing  upon  the  question  of  colored  domestic  ser- 
vice in  Philadelphia.  It  endeavors  to  show  the  relation  of  the 
colored  domestic  to  the  general  domestic  service  problem  on 
the  one  hand,  and  to  the  great  mass  of  the  Negro  people  on 
the  other.  The  purpose,  scope  and  methods  of  the  work  are 
the  same  as  those  already  explained  at  length  by  Dr.  W.  E.  B. 
Du  Bois  in  the  introduction  to  this  volume,  constituting  the 
general  report  of  the  investigation  conducted  by  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania. 

The  section  treating  Domestic  Service  is  no  unimportant  divi- 
sion of  the  general  subject.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  probably  of 
more  consequence  than  any  other  single  aspect  of  the  problem,, 
since  the  number  of  domestic  servants  among  colored  wage- 
earners  is  shown  by  the  last  census  to  be  greater  in  thirty-two 
out  of  forty-eight  States  than  the  number  engaged  in  any  other 
occupation  ;  while  in  many  cases  it  is  greater  than  the  number 
engaged  in  all  other  employments  taken  together.  Indeed  this 
predominance  of  domestic  service  over  all  other  occupations  fol- 
lowed by  the  Negroes,  is  recorded  of  every  State  in  the  Union, 
excepting  the  Southern  States,  where  agriculture  stands  first 
and  domestic  service  second.  It  will  doubtless  be  surprising 
to  many  to  hear  that  the  census  record  shows  that  each  of  the 
Northern  and  Western  States,  with  the  single  exception  of  Dela- 
ware, has  more  colored  people  in  domestic  service  than  in  any 
other  occupation,  while  in  nearly  seven  in  every  ten  of  these 
States  colored  domestic  service  more  than  outnumbers  the 
aggregate  of  all  other  occupations  of  colored  people.  The 
record  for  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  as  given  by  the  last 
census  shows  the  following  facts  concerning  occupations  of 
Negroes  throughout  the  State: 

(427) 


It  appears  from  this  that  very  nearly  60  per  cent  of  the  colored 
workingmen  of  Pennsylvania  are  engaged  in  domestic  ser- 
vice ;  while  over  91  per  cent  of  the  colored  workingwomen  of 
the  State  are  in  service.  A  graphic  presentation  of  these  facts 
makes  clear  the  large  proportion  of  the  Negro  population 
of  Pennsylvania  employed  in  domestic  service: 

Proportion  of  Coi^red   Domestic  Servants  in  Pennsvi,vania 
AS  Compared  with  Whole  Working  Colored  Popu- 
lation—Eleventh  Census. 


■     DOMESTIC  SERVICE 

O     ALL  OTHER  OCCUPATIONS 

In  the  city  of  Philadelphia  nearly  the  same  preponderance  of 
domestic  service  in  relation  to  other  occupations  of  the  colored 
people  is  found. 

In  this  investigation  a  separate  schedule,  for  domestic  service 
was  used. '  Like  the  other  schedules,  it  was  prepared  under  the 
direction  of  Dr.  S.  M.  Lindsay,  Assistant  Professor  of  Sociology 
at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was  carefully  revised  by 
the  national  Department  of  Labor  at  Washington,  as  well  as  by 
prominent  statisticians  in  New  York  and  elsewhere.  The  facts 
here  given  were  collected  during  a  nine-months  residence  at 
the  Philadelphia  College  Settlement,  which  is  located  in  the 
heart  of  one  of  the  most  densely  populated  Negro  quarters  of 
the  city. 

This  schedule  was  used  throughout  the  residence  streets  of 
the  Seventh  Ward,  and  elsewhere  in  the  ward  limits  wherever 

'  Sec  Appendix  A. 


Introduction,  429 

colored  domestics  were  employed. '  This  ward  includes  among 
its  inhabitants  all  grades  of  wealth  and  comfort,  from  the 
houses  with  a  coachman  and  coachman's  assistant,  a  butler  and 
butler's  assistant,  and  a  retinue  of  female  domestics  as  well,  to 
those  houses  where  only  one  woman  is  employed,  who  does 
**general  housework,"  sometimes  including  not  only  cooking 
and  laundry  work,  but  also  the  furnace  work,  removal  of  ashes, 
'^cleaning  the  front,"  and  other  outside  work  usually  delegated 
to  a  man.  And  thus,  since  nearly  all  degrees  of  wealth  are 
represented  in  the  district  investigated — that  is  to  say,  from 
the  present  point  of  view,  all  grades  of  service-employing  fami- 
lies— it  is  probable  that  all  grades  of  colored  domestic  service 
have  been  encountered  in  this  survey. 

In  this  house  to  house  canvass,  every  domestic  scheduled, 
with  a  very  few  exceptions,  was  personally  interviewed.  Oc- 
casionally the  butler  or  waiter  would  answer  for  the  cook,  if 
both  chanced  to  have  served  long  in  the  same  family,  or 
sometimes  the  lady  of  the  house  would  herself  supply  the 
answers,  but  in  every  case,  the  information  given  was  such  as 
to  warrant  belief  in  its  reliability.  To  the  domestic  servants 
personally  interviewed  in  this  way,  have  been  added  the  far 
greater  number  scheduled  by  Dr.  DuBois  in  his  canvass  of  the 
homes  of  the  colored  people  within  the  ward  limits.  Alto- 
gether 677  men  have  been  recorded  and  1612  women,  making 
a  total  of  2289  domestics,  male  and  female,  either  working  or 
living  in  the  Seventh  Ward. 


'  For  map  showing  the  ward  boundaries  see  page  59. 


II. 


ENUMERATION  OP  NEGRO    DOMESTIC    SERVANTS. 

Recent  Reform  in  Domestic  Service. — Reform  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  household  has  been  called  a  "belated 
reform,'*  one  that  has  been  so  long  a  time  in  gaining  the  ear  of 
intelligent  people  that  it  must  somehow  make  up  for  lost 
time  and  gain  a  little  on  other  reforms  before  it  can  hope  to 
come  abreast  of  the  progress  of  the  age.  In  view  of  the  fact 
that  college-bred  women  in  greater  numbers  are  assuming 
responsibility  for  the  administration  of  the  household,  at  the 
same  time  that  reform  of  domestic  service  is  being  agitated, 
it  is  natural  to  think  that  the  one  thing  partly  accounts  for  the 
other.  It  is  certainly  true  that  the  question  is  now  for  the  first 
time  being  treated  scientifically  by  some  of  the  most  intelligent 
women  in  the  country.  The  Civic  Club  of  Philadelphia,  has 
done  honorable  pioneer  work  in  attempting  to  establish  a 
standard  of  work  and  wages  for  domestic  servants,  and  other 
similar  clubs  are  following  in  their  footsteps.  Also,  there  is 
beginning  to  be  a  literature  on  the  subject,  best  represented  by 
•Charles  Booth's  Study  of  Household  Service  in  the  eighth  vol- 
ume of  his  *'  Life  and  Labour  of  the  People,'*  and  by  the  admi- 
rable work  entitled  *' Domestic  Service'*  by  Miss  Lucy  M. 
Salmon,  Professor  of  History  at  Vassar  College.  In  the 
latter  work,  which  is  easily  the  best  authority  on  this  much 
discussed  but  little  understood  subject,  the  doctrine  of  sur- 
vival through  adaptation  is  for  the  first  time  applied  to  the 
economics  of  the  household.  One  result  has  been  the  con- 
viction that  much  of  the  friction  in  the  modem  household 
arises  from  its  lack  of  adaptation  to  the  civilization  of  to-day, 
and  will  disappear  when  domestic  service  gets  in  line  with 
the  march  of  progress  and  ceases  to  try  to  meet  modem 
needs  by  the  employment  of  mediaeval  methods.  The  higher 
is  dependent  on  the  lower,  and  as  our  social  reforms  deal 
with  the  houses  and  food  of  the  poor  for  the  sake  of  higher 
/things  than  mere  physical  well  being,  so  all  our  reforms  must 

(430) 


Enumeration  of  Negro  Domestic  Servants,        431 

begin  at  the  bottom  and  work  up.  We  may  take  courage  that 
reforms  in  domestic  service  and  in  household  economics  will 
spread,  since  they  have  now  ceased  to  be  regarded  as  impos- 
sibilities, and  the  problems  involved  are  being  fairly  faced. 
With  the  widening  of  woman's  mental  horizon,  has  come 
a  realizing  sense  of  the  truth  regarding  household  work,  that 
"in  no  other  occupation  is  there  so  much  waste  of  labor  and 
capital,  and  in  no  other  would  a  fraction  of  this  waste  be  over- 
looked.*' 

This  report  endeavors  to  contribute  to  the  problem  the 
results  of  a  study  of  facts  concerning  the  domestic  work  of 
Negroes  in  Philadelphia. 

Enumeration. — In  presenting  these  facts,  we  shall  begin 
with  an  enumeration  of  Negro  domestics. 

The  first  table  shows  the  number  of  colored  domestic  ser- 
vants' in  the  Seventh  Ward  of  Philadelphia  by  sex  and  age 
periods: 

TABLB  I. 

{Domestic  Service. ) 
Number  op  Coz^rsd  Domestic  Servants  in  Ward  Ssvbn  by 

SSX  AND  AGS  PBRIODS. 


Age. 


Ten  to  twenty  . 
Twenty-one  to  thirty 
Thirty -one  to  forty 
Forty-one  and  over 
Age  unknown  .    .   . 

Total 


Male. 


677 


Female. 


48 

274 

305 

698 

165 

364 

150 

262 

9 

14 

I6I2 


From  this  statement  it  will  be  seen  that  of  the  colored  ser- 
vice in  the  ward  about  30  per  cent  is  furnished  by  men  and  70 
per  cent  by  women.  In  the  Seventh  Ward  of  Philadelphia 
there  were  found  to  be  9675  colored  persons,  of  whom  2289 
are  here  seen  to  be  domestic  employes,  or  23.7  per  cent  of  the 


*  In  this  study  of  the  condition  of  the  colored  people  of  Philadelphia, 
all  persons  scheduled  as  '*  domestic  servants ''  are  connected  with  private 
establishments,  waiters  in  hotels,  etc.,  being  classified  with  public 
service. 


432       Special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 

total  colored  population  of  the  ward.     It  is  a  little  over  30  per 
cent  of  all  the  colored  wage-earners  of  the  ward.* 

This  per  cent  in  domestic  service  agrees  very  nearly  with  the 
following  table  taken  from  the  eleventh  census,  showing  the 
proportion  of  Negro  wage-earners  engaged  in  domestic  service 
the  country  over  to  be  31.4  to  the  hundred.* 


Tabi«b  from  E1.BVBNTH  Census  op  thb  Unitbd  States  Showing 

Percentages  of  Different  Ei«embnts  of  the  Popui^tion 

Engaged  in  Different  Occupations. 


Native  Whites. 
Per  cent. 

Foreigrn  Born. 
Per  cent. 

Negro. 
Per  cent. 

Professions 

Agnculture  ....... 

Trade  and  transportation  .... 

Manufactures 

5.5 
41.0 

17.0 

22.9 

13.6 

2.2 

25.5 
14.0 

31.3 
27.0 

I.I 

57. a 
4.7 
5.6 

31.4 

Personal  service 

Total 

lOO.O 

100. 0 

lOO.O 

When  public  waiters  and  waitresses  in  hotels  and  restaurants, 
as  well  as  janitors  and  caretakers,  are  included  in  the  count  of 
domestic  servants,  it  brings  the  ratio  up  nearly  to  41  per  cent 
of  the  whole  number  of  colored  wage-earners  in  the  ward. 

After  considering  what  per  cent  of  the  colored  people  are 
domestics,  it  is  interesting  to  notice  what  part  of  domestic  ser- 
vice is  colored.  So  we  turn  from  the  ratios  just  given,  to  con- 
sider what  proportion  of  the  total  of  domestic  service  in  the 
United  States  is  performed  by  colored  people.  When  we  think 
of  American  domestic  service  as  a  whole,  we  have  a  more  or 


*The  2289  domestics  which  constitute  34  per  cent  of  the  661 1  Negroes 
in  the  Seventh  Ward  engaged  in  gainful  occupations  are  those  actually 
investigated  in  the  special  inquiry  into  domestic  service.  The  number 
may  not  include  all  the  domestics  in  the  ward  and  does  not  include 
many  classes  of  persons  enumerated  under  **  domestic  and  personal  ser- 
vice** in  the  table  on  page  108  of  this  volume. 

*  Domestic  service  is  classified  in  the  census  under  *'  personal  service,*' 
and  includes  persons  classified  elsewhere  in  this  investigation,  such  as 
hotel  proprietors,  but  the  number  of  Negroes  thus  included  Is  small,  and 
the  error  of  comparison,  therefore,  small. 


Enumeration  of  Negro  Domestic  Servants,        433 

less  dear  conception  of  a  great  army  of  the  colored  race  in  the 
south,  of  the  Irish  and  Germans  in  the  north,  of  the  Swedes 
in  the  middle  west,  and  of  the  Chinese  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 
The  census  of  1890  gives  the  relative  numbers  of  native  white, 
foreign  white  and  colored  (including  Chinese)  domestic  em- 
ployes in  the  United  States  as  follows: 


El«SMBNTS  OF  THE  POPUI,ATION  BnGAGBD  IN  DOMESTIC  SBRVICB. 

{From  the  Eleventh  Census  of  the  United  States,) 


Number. 

Per  cent. 

G«osrraphical  Section. 

Native 
White. 

Foreign 
White. 

Colored. 

Native 
White. 

For'gn 
White 

Cord. 

Pacific  Coast    .... 
Bastem 

.    .    •    ■ 

•        •                 • 

•       •        •       • 

37.58 
3911 
44.71 
59.98 

31.65 
16.77 

35.83 
55.22 
44.62 

33.11 

6.62 
3.10 

t26.59 

5.67 

10.67 

6.91 

61.73 
80.13 

Middle* 

Western 

176,194 

I75,«i9 

42,049 

Border  (near  the  Ma- 
son-Dixon  line)  .   . 

Southern 

United  States  .... 

41.65 

29.55 

28  80 

.... 

*  Includes  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey. 

fThis  term  includes  also  Chinese  who  are  reckoned  in  the  census  as  *'  colored. 


•I 


These  figures  attribute  nearly  29  per  cent  of  the  domestic 
service  of  the  country  to  the  colored,  who  comprise  only  12^ 
per  cent  of  the  population. 

The  colored  perform  about  three  times  as  much  domestic 
service  in  proportion  to  their  numbers  as  the  whites  do.  From 
this  it  will  be  seen  that  while  the  study  of  domestic  service  in 
any  consideration  of  the  condition  of  the  colored  people  is 
important,  the  study  of  the  Negro  domestic  is  equally  impor- 
tant in  any  careful  consideration  of  the  domestic  service  prob- 
lem. It  will  be  noticed  that  the  per  cents  for  the  middle  sec- 
tion of  States  show  only  10.67  P^^  ce^t  of  the  domestic  service 
performed  by  colored  people.  The  large  urban  populations 
of  the  New  York  cities  doubtless  reduce  this  below  what  it 
would  be  if  only  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  were  consid- 
ered, as  city  servants  are  mostly  drawn  from  our  foreign  white 
population,  but  if  the  rate  be  accepted  as  true  for  the  city  of 
38 


434       Special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service, 

Philadelphia  (though  it  is  doubtless  much  too  low  for  a  city 
which  has  the  largest  colored  population  of  any  city  in  the 
United  States,  except  New  Orleans  and  Washington),  if  it  be 
accepted  for  Philadelphia,  where  4  per  cent  of  the  population 
is  colored,  we  shall  find  that  the  Negro  domestics  **run  ahead 
of  their  ticket "  here  also  in  this  matter  of  household  service. 
The  probable  reason  for  this  disproportion  is  not  far  to  seek 
when  we  remember  the  unpopularity  of  domestic  service  which 
keeps  whites  out,  and  reflect  that  the  colored  prejudice  which 
is  known  to  operate  against  the  Negro  in  nearly  all  depart- 
ments of  labor  excepting  drudgery,  actually  works  in  his  favor  in 
the  matter  of  domestic  service,  where  the  competence  of  Negro 
waiters  and  the  superior  skill  of  Negro  cooks  is  generally  ad- 
mitted. Hence,  Negro  labor,  following  the  line  of  least  resist- 
ance, flows  in  enlarged  streams  into  the  channel  of  domestic 
service. 


III. 


SOURCES  OP  THE  SUPPLY  AND  METHODS  OF  HIRING. 


The  question  next  arises  as  to  the  chief  sources  of  Philadel- 
phia's large  supply  of  colored  service.  Are  these  people 
Southern  Negroes,  or  Philadelphia  bom  ?  The  quality  of  ser- 
vice rendered  and  the  standard  of  excellence  may  depend  in 
some  degree  upon  circumstances  of  birth  and  training.  Hence 
the  facts  in  regard  to  nativity  as  shown  in  Table  II,  which  fol- 
lows, are  worth  considering: 

TABLE  II. 

Nativitv  op  Colored  Dombstic  Servants  in  Philadelphia. 

Number  and  Per  Cent  by  Sex  and  Birthplace, 


Birthplace. 


Philadelphia 

Pennsylvania 

New  Jersey 

Delaware 

Maryland 

Virginia 

West  Virginia 

District  of  Columbia     .   .  . 

North  Carolina 

South  Carolina 

Georgia 

South  Geor^ 

West  Georgia 

Ohio 

Missouri 

Kentucky 

Tennessee 

Louisiana ......... 

Mississippi 

Alabama 

West  Indies 

New  York 

Maine 

Massachusetts 

Connecticut 

Rhode  Island 

North  Rhode  Island  .   .    .   . 

Canada  

Florida 

Texas 

Hungary 

Scotland 

South  America 

Unknown 

Total 


Number  of 
Males. 


78 

37 
18 

34 
102 
199 

5 

50 
36 

7 

4 
28 

2 

o 

o 

o 

2 
I 

o 

2 

8 

I 

5 
I 

2 

o 

I 

2 

o 

o 

o 

o 

37 


Number  of 
Females. 


677 


215 

94 

50 

99 
359 
439 

14 

85 
68 

5 
II 

51 
3 

5 

2 

I 

4 

2 

2 
2 

4 
10 

I 

2 

4 
o 

I 

2 
o 

2 
I 
I 
I 

72 


1612 


ToUl 
Number. 


293 

131 
68 

133 
461 

638 

19 
135 
104 

12 

15 

79 
5 

5 

2 

I 
6 

3 

2 

4 
19 

18 

2 

7 

5 

2 

I 

3 

2 

2 
I 
I 
I 
109 


ToUl 
Per  cent. 


i.72  /  '^• 


12.08 

5 

3. 
5.08 

27.90  /  '^' 

5.90 
4.50 


3.90 


52 


04 


2289 


(435) 


436       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 

These  facts  show  clearly  that  the  greater  part  of  Philadel- 
phia's colored  domestic  service  is  supplied  from  Maryland  and 
Virginia,  particularly  from  the  latter  State.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  less  than  one-fifth  of  it  (18.5  per  cent)  is  supplied  from 
Philadelphia  and  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  while  very  nearly 
one-half  (48.4  percent)  comes  from  the  two  States  of  Maryland 
and  Virginia.  Some  interesting  indications  in  regard  to  nativ- 
ity and  quality  of  service  as  measured  by  length  of  service 
with  the  same  employer,  are  brought  out  later  in  Table 
XXV. 

Methods  of  Hiring. — Philadelphia  is  as  much  at  the  mercy 
of  employment  bureaus,  and  the  frequently  untrustworthy 
recommendations  of  previous  employers,  as  are  other  large 
cities.  Yet  these  and  the  method  of  advertising  are  the  only 
ways  open  to  the  employer  for  accomplishing  what  has  been 
called  the  **  inevitable  annual  change  of  employes.*'  The  col- 
ored people  in  domestic  service  seldom  seek  employment  through 
the  Philadelphia  intelligence  offices  or  by  applying  in  answer 
to  advertisement  unless  it  is  particularly  stated  that  colored 
help  is  acceptable  or  preferred.  They  generally  offer  the  recom- 
mendations of  former  employers,  though  many  of  them,  seldom 
the  best  ones,  oflfer  their  services  from  door  to  door  and  are 
employed  upon  the  recommendation  of  personal  appearance  and 
general  bearing.  The  colored  man's  avoidance  of  the  employ- 
ment bureau  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  extortionate  fees 
are  usually  charged  him.  He  patronizes  a  few  bureaus  kept 
by  colored  people  whom  he  trusts  ;  and  his  unwillingness  to 
answer  advertisements  needs  no  explanation  but  the  remark 
already  offered. 

Personnel  of  Colored  Domestic  Service. — In  regard  to 
the  personnel  of  domestic  service,  the  facts  in  Philadelphia  cor- 
respond with  those  for  all  employes  the  world  over  ;  Negro 
domestic  servants  are  for  the  most  part  women  rather  than  men, 
and  young  rather  than  middle-aged  or  old  people.  An  examina- 
tion of  Table  I  will  show  that  only  about  30  in  100  of  Philadel- 
phia's colored  domestics  are  men,  while  a  study  of  the  census 
figures  of  1890  shows  only  16  men  in  100  in  domestic  service 
the  country  over;  and  the  disproportion  in  English  household 
service  is  even  greater,  there  being  only  7  men  in  100  Lon- 
don servants.     The  sexes  thus  engaged  in  domestic  work  in 


Sources  of  Supply  and  Methods  of  Hiring.       437 

Philadelphia,  in  the  United  States  and  in  London  are  here 
compared  in  tabular  form: 

TABLE  III. 
Sbx  in  Dombstic  Sbrvicb  op  Dippbrbnt  I^ocautibs  Compared. 


Locality. 

Male. 
Per  cent. 

Female. 
Per  cent. 

Colored  Domestic  Service  in  Philadelphia 

Domestic  Service  in  United  States  (eleventh  census) 

Domestic  Service  in  London  (Charles  Booth,  Vol. 

8.  D.  211^ 

29.6 
15.8 

6.7 

70.4 
84.2 

93.3 

*'»r'****/ •••«... 

A  comparison  of  the  two  columns  shows  very  clearly  that 
domestic  work  which  has  long  been  considered  as  **  women's 
work  '*  is  still  being  done  largely  by  women.  A  comparison 
of  the  items  of  the  first  column  of  Table  II  with  each  other 
shows  that,  taking  the  country  over,  where  the  domestic  service 
is  represented  largely  by  Irish,  German,  English,  Swedish  and 
Norwegian  elements  as  well  as  Negroes,  the  proportion  of  men 
servants  falls  to  only  about  one- half  that  of  colored  men  ser- 
vants in  Philadelphia.  This  again  is  probably  to  be  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  so  many  avenues  of  employment  which  are 
closed  to  colored  men  are  open  to  men  among  the  white 
foreign  element  which  makes  up  the  greater  part  of  American 
service.  In  our  shops  and  markets  and  in  our  building  trades, 
on  our  trolley  cars  and  our  delivery  wagons  we  see  Irish  and 
German  and  Swedish  men,  but  no  Negroes.  The  result  upon 
domestic  service  of  this  closing  of  so  many  doors  to  the  colored 
man  is  twofold.  Many  of  them,  being  unable  to  better  them- 
selves financially  by  leaving  service  for  other  employments, 
remain  in  household  work  much  longer  than  they  otherwise 
would  do,  and  when  they  marry  many  of  them  **  turn  waiter  " 
because  household  service  is  one  of  the  best  paid  employments 
open  to  the  blacks.  Thus  colored  men  servants  tend  to  remain 
in  ser\'ice  longer  than  whites  do  and  the  frequent  addition  to 
their  ranks,  of  married  colored  men  also  tends  to  increase  the 
ratio  of  men  servants  among  Negro  domestics  as  well  as  to 
raise  the  average  age. 

Next  to  the  small  number  of  men  in  domestic  service  and  the 
fact  that  a  greater  proportion  of  colored  than  of  white  men  are 


438       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service, 

domestics,  a  study  of  the  personnel  of  domestic  service  reveals 
peculiarities  concerning  the  age  of  servants.  Nearly  all  house- 
hold servants  are  comparatively  young.  This  has  been  found 
to  be  true  everywhere,  where  records  have  been  made,  and 
more  especially  among  whites  than  among  blacks.  The  colored 
people  in  service  are  older  on  the  average  than  the  whites  (as 
would  be  expected  from  facts  just  given).  Nearly  one-half 
of  all  the  colored  domestics  in  the  Seventh  Ward  of  Phila- 
delphia, both  men  and  women,  are  included  in  the  age  period 
between  twenty-one  and  thirty  years  as  may  be  seen  by  refer- 
ence to  Table  I.  The  average  age  among  them  is  31.9  years 
for  the  men,  and  29.6  for  the  women,  the  combined  average  for 
both  sexes  being  30.3  years.  This  shows  that  Philadelphia's 
colored  domestics  are  comparatively  young  people,  but  an  ex- 
amination of  the  age  of  London  servants  shows  also  30.5  years 
as  the  average  age  of  the  men  and  28.2  years  as  the  average 
age  of  the  women  in  service  there.  While  the  United  States 
Census  of  1890  shows  men  servants  the  country  over  to  average 
29. 1  years,  the  women  average  only  26.8  years.  These  average 
ages  are  given  in  tabular  form  for  convenience  of  comparison. 


TABLE  IV. 

AvBRAGB  Age  in  Domestic  Service  of  Different  Locauties 

Compared. 


I<ocality. 


Colored  Domestic  Service  in  Philadelphia  .... 

General  Domestic  Service  in  London  (computed 
from  Charles  Booth's  Diagram) 

General  Domestic  Service  in  United  States  (com- 
puted from  eleventh  census) 


Male. 


Female. 


Aver.  Age.    Aver.  Age 


30.5 
29.1 


29.6 
28.2 
26.8 


Sources  of  Supply  and  Methods  of  Hiring.        439 


Diagram  A, 

English   Domestic  Service. 

-^ 

J— 





■ 

Diagram  Showing  Ages ofPebsons 

M 



-4— 

-^ 



— 

__ 

Engaged  IN  Householi>5ervice£  of  the 

130 

la 

w 

80 

60 

50 

3D 

20 

WU      202S3a»-l04S30M«0Un79 

Taken  from  Booth's  "  Life  and  Labour  of  the  People,"  Vol.  8,  p.  a 


440       Special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 


lai 

nc 

2K 

Diagram  B. 
Showing  AGES  of  Persons 
Engaged  in  Domestic  Service  in 

ao 

Dom.Seovice 

All  Wage  Earners 

■ 





.\- 

-\ 



11- Census  Figures  FOB 

ioMBwisoH  WITH  Similar  Map  BvBooTM 

— 



no 

100 

90 

'^- 

BO 

TO 

eo 

so 

30 

20 

ID 

°. 

11       2. 

3 

0      3 

i      * 

0      A, 

5      5 

0      S 

1      fi 

0      ft 

0       7 

9      (K 

Sources  of  Supply  and  Methods  of  Hiring.       441 


360 

3M 
34C 

330 
320 
310 

MO 

= 

= 

=1 

^ 

= 

:= 

Show 
Enga 
ofPh 
Mau 

D 

MGTl 
SEDIN 
lADEl 

Wag 
--O0 
-All 

lAG 

eAg 
Dqm 

JWA*' 

eEa 

i.Seo 

XILOR 

3  AM 
J  Of 

5eb 
Ages 

NEB 
ICE 

ED  Ma 

C. 

Colo 
ICEl 
OF  a 

inS 
leWju 

iCoto 
AnE« 

jEEar 

EN 
ARD 
RED 
AJID 

KEK 

280 
ZTO 
260 

240 

= 

= 

J 

1 

= 

= 

J20 
210 

zn 

190 

= 

1 

= 



1 

= 

= 

HI 

= 

= 

= 

i 

140 

ISO 

110 

90 

flO 

70 

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50 

40 

30 

C 

10 

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H) 

u 

» 

iS      t 

lO 

13 

0 

S     00 

III. 


SOURCES  OP  THE  SUPPLY  AND  METHODS  OP  HIRING. 


The  question  next  arises  as  to  the  chief  sources  of  Philadel- 
phia's large  supply  of  colored  service.  Are  these  people 
Southern  Negroes,  or  Philadelphia  bom  ?  The  quality  of  ser- 
vice rendered  and  the  standard  of  excellence  may  depend  in 
some  degree  upon  circmnstances  of  birth  and  training.  Hence 
the  facts  in  regard  to  nativity  as  shown  in  Table  II,  which  fol- 
lows, are  worth  considering: 

TABLE  II. 

Nativitv  of  Colored  Domestic  Servants  in  Philadelphia. 

Number  and  Per  Cent  by  Sex  and  Birthplace, 


Birthplace. 


Philadelphia  .  .  .  . 
Pennsylvania  .  .  .  . 
New  Jersey  .   .   .   .   . 

Delaware 

Mar]^land 

Virginia 

West  Virginia  .  ,  .  . 
District  of  Columbia 
North  Carolina  .  .  . 
South  Carolina  .   .   . 

Georgia 

South  Geor^  .  .  , 
West  Georgia  .   .   .   . 

Ohio 

Missouri 

Kentucky  .  .  .  .  . 
Tennessee     .   .   .   .    , 

Louisiana 

Mississippi  .   .   .    .   . 

Alabama , 

West  Indies  .  .  .  .  , 
New  York    .... 

Maine , 

Massachusetts  .  .  . 
Connecticut  .  .  .  , 
Rhode  Island  .  .  .  , 
North  Rhode  Island 

Canada , 

Florida , 

Texas 

Hungary 

Scotland 

South  America    .   . 
Unknown     .... 

Total 


Number  of 

Number  of 

ToUl 

Males. 

Females. 

Number. 

78 

215 

293 

37 

94 

131 

18 

50 

68 

34 

99 

133 

102 

359 

461 

199 

439 

638 

5 

14 

19 

50 

85 

135 

36  . 

68 

104 

7 

5 

12 

4 

II 

15 

28 

51 

79 

2 

3 

5 

0 

5 

5 

0 

2 

2 

0 

I 

I 

2 

4 

6 

I 

2 

3 

0 

2 

2 

2 

2 

4 

15 

4 

19 

8 

10 

18 

I 

I 

2 

5 

2 

7 

I 

4 

5 

2 

0 

2 

0 

I 

I 

I 

2 

3 

2 

0 

2 

0 

2 

2 

0 

I 

I 

0 

I 

I 

0 

I 

I 

37 

72 

109 

677 

1612 

2289 

Total 
Per  cent. 


;.72  /  '^• 


12.08 

5 

3. 
5.08 

27.90  /  '^' 

5.90 
4.50 


3.90 


52 


04 


(435) 


43^        Special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 


These  facts  show  clearly  that  the  greater  part  of  Philadel- 
phia's colored  domestic  service  is  supplied  from  Maryland  and 
Virginia,  particularly  from  the  latter  State.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  less  than  one-fifth  of  it  (18.5  percent)  is  supplied  from 
Philadelphia  and  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  while  very  nearly 
one-half  {48,4  percent)  comes  from  the  two  States  of  Maryland 
and  Virginia,  Some  interesting  indications  in  regard  to  nativ- 
ity and  quality  of  service  as  measured  by  length  of  service 
with  the  same  employer,  are  brought  out  later  in  Table 
XXV. 

Methods  of  Hiring. — Philadelphia  is  as  much  at  the  mercy 
of  employment  bureaus,  and  the  frequently  untrustworthy 
recommendations  of  previous  employers,  as  are  other  large 
cities.  Yet  these  and  the  method  of  advertising  are  the  only 
ways  open  to  the  employer  for  accomplishing  what  has  been 
called  the  "  inevitable  annual  change  of  employes."  The  col- 
ored people  in  domestic  service  seldom  seek  employment  through 
the  Philadelphia  intelligence  offices  or  by  applying  in  answer 
to  advertisement  unless  it  is  particularly  stated  that  colored 
help  is  acceptable  or  preferred.  They  generally  offer  the  recom- 
mendations of  former  employers,  though  many  of  them,  seldom 
the  best  ones,  offer  their  services  from  door  to  door  and  are 
employed  upon  the  recommendation  of  personal  appearance  and 
general  bearing.  The  colored  man's  avoidance  of  the  employ- 
ment bureau  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  extortionate  fees 
are  usually  charged  him.  He  patronizes  a  few  bureaus  kept 
by  colored  people  whom  be  trusts  ;  and  his  unwillingness  to 
answer  advertisements  needs  no  explanation  but  the  remark 
already  offered. 

Personnel  of  Colored  Domestic  Service. — In  regard  to 
the  personnel  of  domestic  service,  the  facts  in  Philadelphia  cor- 
respond with  those  for  all  employes  the  world  over ;  Negro 
domestic  servants  are  for  the  most  part  women  rather  than  men, 
and  young  rather  than  middle-aged  or  old  people.  An  examina- 
tion of  Table  I  will  show  that  only  about  30  in  100  of  Philadel- 
phia's colored  domestics  are  men,  while  a  study  of  the  census 
figures  of  1890  shows  only  16  men  in  100  in  domestic  service 
the  country  over;  and  the  disproportion  in  English  household 
service  is  even  greater,  there  being  only  7  men  in  lOo  Lon- 
don servants.     The  sexes  thus  engaged  in  domestic  work  in 


Sources  of  Supply  and  Methods  of  Hiring.        437 

Philadelphia,  in  the  United   States  and  in  London  are  here 
compared  in  tabular  form: 

TABLE  in. 
Srx  in  Dombstic  Service  of  Diffehknt  Localities  Compared. 


Lociiir. 

,ri-.,. 

FtDjale. 

Colored  Domestic  Service  in  Philadelphia 

Domestic  Service  in  United  States  (eleventh  census) 
Domestic  Service  in  London  (Charles  Booth.  Vol. 

.9.6 

is.s 
67 

93-3 

A  comparison  of  the  two  columns  shows  very  clearly  that 
domestic  work  which  has  long  been  considered  as  "women's 
work  "  is  still  being  done  largely  by  women.  A  comparison 
of  the  items  of  the  first  column  of  Table  II  with  each  other 
shows  that,  taking  the  country  over,  where  the  domestic  service 
is  represented  largely  by  Irish,  German,  English,  Swedish  and 
Norwegian  elements  as  well  as  Negroes,  the  proportion  of  men 
servants  falls  to  only  about  one-half  that  of  colored  men  ser- 
vants in  Philadelphia.  This  again  is  probably  to  be  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  so  many  avenues  of  employment  which  are 
closed  to  colored  men  are  open  to  men  among  the  white 
foreign  element  which  makes  up  the  greater  part  of  American 
service.  In  our  shops  and  markets  and  in  our  building  trades, 
on  our  trolley  cars  and  our  delivery  wagons  we  see  Irish  and 
German  and  Swedish  men,  but  no  Negroes,  The  result  upon 
domestic  service  of  this  closing  of  so  many  doors  to  the  colored 
man  is  twofold.  Many  of  them,  being  unable  to  better  them- 
selves financially  by  leaving  service  for  other  employments, 
remain  in  household  work  much  longer  than  they  otherwise 
would  do,  and  when  they  marry  many  of  them  "  turn  waiter" 
because  household  service  is  one  of  the  best  paid  employments 
open  to  the  blacks.  Thus  colored  men  servants  tend  to  remain 
in  ser\- ice  longer  than  whites  do  and  the  frequent  addition  to 
their  ranks,  of  married  colored  men  also  tends  to  increase  the 
ratio  of  men  servants  among  Negro  domestics  as  well  as  to 
raise  the  average  age. 

Next  to  the  small  number  of  men  in  domestic  service  and  the 
fact  that  a  greater  proportion  of  colored  than  of  white  men  are 


domestics,  a  study  of  the  personnel  of  domestic  service  reveals 
peculiarities  concerning  the  age  of  servants.  Nearly  all  house- 
hold servants  are  comparatively  young.  This  has  been  found 
to  be  true  everywhere,  where  records  have  been  made,  and 
more  especially  among  whites  than  among  blacks,  The  colored 
people  in  service  are  older  on  the  average  than  the  whites  (as 
would  be  expected  from  facts  just  given).  Nearly  one-half 
of  all  the  colored  domestics  in  the  Seventh  Ward  of  Phila- 
delphia, both  men  and  women,  are  included  in  the  age  period 
between  twenty-one  and  thirty  years  as  raay  be  seen  by  refer- 
ence to  Table  I.  The  average  age  among  them  is  31.9  years 
for  the  men,  and  29.6  for  the  women,  the  combined  average  for 
both  sexes  being  30.3  years.  This  shows  thai  Philadelphia's 
colored  domestics  are  comparatively  young  people,  but  an  ex- 
amination of  the  age  of  London  servants  shows  also  30.5  years 
as  the  average  age  of  the  men  and  28,2  years  as  the  average 
age  of  the  women  in  service  there.  While  the  United  States 
Census  of  1 890  shows  men  servants  the  country  over  to  average 
29.1  years,  the  women  average  only  26.8  years.  These  average 
ages  are  given  iu  tabular  form  for  convenience  of  comparison. 


AvERtGB  Age 


TABLE  IV, 
(  Domestic  SaR^^CE  op  Differkst  Localittks 
Com  PA  BSD. 


I.OCBllt7. 

Male, 

VtmAlt. 
Anr.Ase. 

Generat  Domestic  Service  in  London  (computed 
from  Charles  Booth's  Diflgtam) 

General  Domestic  Service  in  United  States  [com- 
puted from  eleventh  census) 

3«-9 
30-5 
39.1 

39.6 
38.  a 
>6.8 

Sources  of  Supply  and  Methods  of  Hiring.        439 


Diagram  A. 
Engush   Domestic  Service. 

hm 

ED1N 

f^ii 

80 





— 









»l9a3930U4O4SS0SSW«Sn79<lb 

Taken  from  Booth's  "  Life  and  Labonr  of  the  People,"  Vot  8,  p.  an. 


^^^             ao 



, 

..■n- 

^ 

— 

— 

4 

m 

MO 

Diagram  B. 
Showing  AGES  of  Persons 

230 
220 
2tO 
200 

IN  Domestic  Sewiceim 

TWE  U.S.amdAgesoftheWhole 
^o.ofWase  Earners  IN  theUSl(MAI£S) 

— 

f— 7- 

^ 

— 

. 

/ICE 

E  Earners 

tso 
lao 

170 

— 

-j- 

^ 

z^ 

1 

All  Wac 

Computed  fboh  11- CensusFigubesfob 

BIWNWITHSlMllAff  MaPByBoOTH 

130 

130 

— 

110 

90 
80 
70 

eo 
» 

— 

30 

20 
10 

* 

0      B 

5      4 

o    & 

3    a 

B 

3W 

1 

5 

1 

ourccs 

-T-y 

1 

1 

Sufi 

1 

1 

Melhods  of  Hiring 

Ill" 

1 

1 

441 

1 

350 

340 

33C 
3» 
310 

30C 

=  =1 

^ 

= 

= 

= 

:= 

— 

— 

= 

^T 



— 



— ' 

— ^ 

r              ■ 

^ 

= 

= 

E= 

Showing  the  Ages  of  Colored  Men 
Engaged  in  Dom.Service  iNn-WABO 

OF  PhIIADEIWIA'-'AGES  OF  ALL  COLORED 

2» 

MO 

tm 

'            m 

ISO 
240 
330 

i 

1 

= 

= 

Mai 

Wac 
--Oo 
-Au 

f  Ea 

m.5er 
Color 

NER 

VICE 

ED  Ha 

IN  5 

leW« 

AnE» 
I  Ear 

HERS 

200 

190 

lao 
m 

= 

i 

i 

= 

= 

= 

= 

= 

= 

= 

= 

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IM 

130 
120 
M 

90 
SO 
TO 
«0 
50 
40 
30 
20 
10 
0 

l015ZO2S3aU4O4S»UHUT0Tse 

1 

442        special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service, 

But  while  these  are  average  ages,  the  very  great  excess  of 
the  younger  age  periods  over  the  older  ones  may  be  more  clearly 
seen  by  the  diagrams  A,  B  and  C,  contrasting  the  ages  of 
domestic  men  servants  with  the  ages  of  all  other  male  wage 
earners.  Diagram  A  shows  these  differences  of  age,  as  exhib- 
ited in  London,  between  men  in  household  service  and  all  of 
occupied  London.  Diagram  B  shows  the  contrast  as  it  exists 
between  men  servants  in  the  United  States  and  all  the  occupied 
men  in  the  total  population.  Diagram  C  contrasts  ages  of  col- 
ored male  servants  in  the  Seventh  Ward  of  Philadelphia  and 
those  of  all  occupied  colored  males  in  that  ward.  What  these 
three  maps  mean  is  that  the  ratio  which  the  young  men  in 
domestic  service  bear  to  the  whole  number  of  men  in  domestic 
service  is  greater  (by  as  much  as  the  diagram  indicates  in  each 
case)  than  the  ratio  which  the  young  men  in  all  occupations 
bear  to  the  whole  number  of  men  in  all  occupations.  In  Lon- 
don, according  to  Mr.  Booth's  diagram,  there  is  an  excess  of 
youth  in  service  between  ages  of  fifteen  and  thirty-three,  after 
which  age  the  males  in  household  work  fall  behind  those 
otherwise  occupied.  In  America,  according  to  diagram  B,*  the 
excess  of  young  men  in  service  begins  at  fifteen,  lasting  till 
nearly  the  age  of  thirty-nine,  after  which  the  proportion  of  men 
in  service  is  less  than  that  of  men  otherwise  occupied.  In  the 
Seventh  Ward  of  Philadelphia,  according  to  diagram  C,  we 
notice  an  interesting  variation  from  the  comparatively  close 
agreement  of  diagrams  A  and  B.  The  greatest  excess  of  youth 
in  service,  here,  as  in  A  and*  B,  is  also  at  about  twenty-three 
to  twenty-five  years,  but  diagram  C  seems  to  show  that  in 
Negro  wage-earning  in  cities,  the  disproportionately  large 
number  of  men  in  domestic  service  holds  good  for  every  age 
except  that  period  which  marks  a  man's  greatest  physical 
strength,  the  period  between  thirty  and  forty  years.  The  ex- 
cess of  colored  men  of  that  age  in  other  occupations  is  no 
doubt  due  to  the  large  number  of  colored  men  of  great  physi- 
cal strength  who  act  as  stevedores,  porters,  etc.,  between  the 
ages  of  thirty  and  forty.  The  sudden  bend  at  thirty-five  in 
the  domestic  service  line,  in  diagram  C,  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  last  age  period  recorded  was  *'  forty-one  years  and  over/*^ 


'  Computed  on  census  figures  and  after  Mr.  Booth's  method. 


Sources  of  Supply  and  Methods  of  Hiring.       445 

and,  therefore,  includes  a  few  old  servants  about  sixty.  If 
each  decade  had  been  recorded,  the  curve  would  be  more 
gradual,  perhaps  crossing  the  other  between  forty  and  forty- 
five.  The  excess  of  sixty-seven  points  on  the  forty-five-year 
line  is  almost  equal  to  the  excess  at  twenty-five  years,  and  is, 
therefore,  probably  in  need  of  modification,  though  there  is  little 
doubt  of  its  indicating  a  real  condition  of  Negro  labor  in 
cities. 

The  fact  that  the  highest  point  of  excess  of  youth  in  these 
three  diagrams  is  reached  at  twenty-three  to  twenty-five  years 
is  significant,  and  suggests  the  query  why  it  is  that  domestic 
service  so  clearly  attracts  the  young  of  both  sexes  and  of  all 
races.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  one  of  the  most  prominent  deter- 
mining causes  is  necessity  for  immediate  income.  Many 
young  men  and  women  are  obliged  by  circumstances  to  under- 
take some  form  of  work  which,  while  requiring  no  capital  and 
no  particular  course  of  training,  still  yields  an  immediate 
return,  which  is  certain  to  provide  them  at  least  their  board 
and  lodging,  with  a  small  amount  for  living  expenses.  This 
is  the  chief  reason  why  the  first  employment  of  young  men 
and  women  just  beginning  to  support  themselves  is  so  often 
**  going  out  to  service/' 


IV. 

GRADES  OP  SBRVICK  AND  WAGES. 

In  his  study  of  household  service  in  the  eighth  volume  of 
*  *  Life  and  Labour  of  the  People, ' '  Mr.  Charles  Booth  distin- 
guishes three  grades  or  divisions  among  women  in  domestic 
service.  The  lowest  group  is  made  up  of  those  employed  in 
the  **  roughest  single-handed  places."  The  next  group  is 
made  up  of  those  in  single-handed  places,  but  of  a  better  class; 
while  the  third  group  **  includes  those  employed  in  many  mid- 
dle class  homes  and  in  the  large  establishments  of  the  wealthy, 
it  being  scarcely  possible  to  make  any  practical  division 
between  these  two  classes  of  servants."  Each  group  merges 
imperceptibly  into  the  next  above  it,  so  that  it  is  practically 
impossible  to  separate  them  in  statistical  enumeration.  If 
another  grade  be  supplied  between  the  second  and  third  given 
here — a  grade  found  in  well-to-do  Philadelphia  families,  where 
two  women  servants  are  employed — this  grading  of  London 
service  applies  very  fairly  to  the  condition  of  colored  service 
in  Philadelphia.  A  considerable  number  of  families  in  Phila- 
delphia employ  but  one  woman  servant,  and  hire  no  extra  help 
to  do  laundry  work,  house  cleaning  or  outside  work.  The  one 
woman  does  the  "  cooking,  washing,  ironing,  and  drags  up  all 
the  ashes,  tends  furnace,  cleans  the  front,  and  does  every  sin- 
gle thing  '* — as  one  woman  put  her  own  case.  A  second  sort 
of  household  has  only  one  domestic,  but  also  hires  extra  ser- 
vice for  laundry  work,  etc.  Then  follows  the  large  number  of 
houses  where  two  women  servants  are  kept,  cook  and  * '  second 
girl,"  sometimes  with  and  sometimes  without  the  weekly 
«xtra  service;  and  finally,  the  establishments  with  many 
domestics,  each  having  his  or  her  own  special  duties.  The 
only  classification  of  househould  servants  which  is  at  all  prac- 
ticable in  this  inquiry,  is  that  into  sub-occupations  or  special- 
ized kinds  of  work  resulting  from  division  of  labor  within 
domestic  service.  Such  a  classification  of  colored  domestic 
service  in  Philadelphia  shows  seven  sub-divisions  of  the  work 
engaging  the  labor  of  men  servants,  while  there  are  no  fewer 
than  twelve  in  which  women  are  employed.  These  are  here 
g^iven  in  tabulated  form: 

(444) 


Grades  of  Service  and  Wages. 


445 


TABLE  V. 

Sub-occupations   in  Philadelphia  Domestic  Service  (Seventh 

Ward)  by  Number  and  Sex. 


Malb. 


Bell  and  errand  boys,  etc.  .    .  23 

Butler               109 

Coachman 76 

Waiter 387 

Cook 47 

Valet     4 

General  work 31 


Pbmalb. 


Bell  and  errand  girlSy  etc.    .   .  34 

Child's  nurse 21 

Chambermaid 114 

Waitress 4^ 

Waitress  and  chambermaid    .  2s 

Lady's  maid 4 


Laundress 

Cook 

Cook  and  laundress  .... 
Chambermaid  and  laundress 
**Jani  tress" 


365 
8 
6 


General  housework 96^ 


Work  Required  of  Various  Sub-occupations. — The  work 
usually  assigned  to  each  of  these  sub-classes  is  known  in  a  gen- 
eral way  by  everyone.  In  one  of  the  appendices  to  her  book 
on  **  Domestic  Service/'  Miss  Salmon  publishes  a  circular  letter 
from  one  of  the  committees  of  the  Philadelphia  Civic  Club  to  the 
members  of  the  club,  submitting  standards  of  work  and  wages 
for  the  various  classes  of  sub-occupations  among  domestic 
servants.  A  single  paragraph  may  be  quoted,  which  gives  the 
duties  of  one  sub-occupation  minutely  and  accurately,  though 
all  sorts  of  cross-classifications  occur  in  practice,  the  waitress 
often  being  also  chambermaid  or  laundress: 

**  Waitresses  at  $3.00  or  $3.50  per  week;  must  understand 
care  of  dining-room,  of  silver,  glass  and  china;  care  and  atten- 
tion in  waiting  on  table,  care  of  parlor  and  halls  and  answer- 
ing the  doorbell  properly.'* 

The  requirements  for  cooks,  laundresses,  chambermaids, 
nurses,  etc.,  are  given  with  equal  accuracy  of  detail,  but  this 
is  so  generally  understood  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  on 
the  point  here.  The  term  **janitress"  may  need  a  word  of 
explanation;  this  was  what  the  hall  servant  and  generally  use- 
ful domestic  at  a  large  private  boarding  school  called  herself, 
and  there  were  several  others  who  seemed  best  classed  with 
her.  The  duties  of  the  butler  in  many  cases  extend  to  those 
of  steward,  and  he  is  often  to  a  large  degree  responsible  for  the 
selection  and  purchase  of  the  food  materials  used  in  his 
particular  establishment.     The  colored  butler  thus  honorably 


446       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service, 

commissioned,  generally  styles  himself  **  butler  and  steward," 
though  he  has  not,  in  any  case  thus  far  personally  encountered, 
the  responsibility  of  engaging  and  paying  the  other  servants, 
as  is  the  case  with  the  English  steward.  The  Philadelphia 
use  of  the  word  is  evidently  a  modification  of  the  English 
term  and  bears  a  quite  different  significance. 

The  wages  paid  for  these  services  vary  in  accordance  with 
many  modifying  influences,  as  will  be  shown.  Domestic  ser- 
vice, however,  is  generally  acknowledged  to  be  well  paid,  as 
compared  with  other  occupations  which  are  open  to  women. 
A  cook  receiving  $4.50  a  week,  the  average  pay  in  Boston,  can 
save  as  much  in  a  year  as  the  average  teacher  in  American 
public  schools,  as  is  shown  by  a  comparison  of  the  average 
teacher's  salary,  based  on  6512  records,^  and  the  statement  is 
made  on  the  authority  of  cashiers  of  banks  in  factory  towns, 
that  domestics  as  a  class  save  more  than  do  factory  hands.  The 
question  of  the  savings  of  colored  domestics  is  treated  in  the 
latter  part  of  this  report. 

Table  VI,  which  follows,  shows  the  range  of  wages  paid  to 
men  in  the  various  sub-divisions  of  colored  domestic  service  and 
also  the  average  wage  in  each  class  of  service.  This  table  and 
Table  VII  represent  the  statements  of  the  workers  themselves 
in  regard  to  their  earnings. 

TABLE  VI. 
Rangb  op  Wages  and  Avbragb  Wagbs  of  Coi«orbd  Mbn  Sb&- 

VANTS  IN  PhIIADEI^HIA. 


Sub-occupation . 


Bell-boy,  etc. 
Butler  .  .  . 
Coachman 
Waiter  .  .  . 
Cook  .... 
Valet  .  .  . 
General  work 


Rangfcoi  Wagfcs. 


t$i  oo~  U   50 

25—  13  50 
00 —  14  00 

00 —  8  00 


6 

5 

2 

I 

7 
I 


00 —  15  00 
00 —  10  00 
00 —  10  00 


ATcra^ 
Weekly  Wage.* 


$2   61 

8  24 
8  58 
6  14 
6  17 
8  00 
538 


*  Computed  on  basis  of  reports  from  all  individuals  interviewed  belonging^  to  each 
sub-occupation. 

t  The  figures  given  indicate  the  lowest  and  highest  wages  reported  in  each  clasa,  as 
reported  by  those  interviewed  in  a  canvass  of  6i6  individuals  in  the  Seventh  Ward, 
Philadelphia. 


^  L/.  M.  Salmon,  "Domestic  Service,"  p.  99. 


Grades  of  Service  and  Images. 


447 


The  figures  here  given  of  course  represent  the  weekly  pay  for 
the  services  classified;  but  such  sums  as$i.oo  as  the  weekly 
pay  for  the  service  of  a  cook,  or  $2.00  as  that  of  a  waiter 
should  be  recognized  as  unusual  and  as  recording  facts  which 
are  far  from  typical,  which  represent  the  extreme  of  underpay 
oflFered  only  under  extraordinary  circumstances,  probably  to  a 
young  and  inexperienced  boy  or  to  an  aged  or  otherwise  ineffi- 
cient cook. 

Table  VII  gives  the  same  set  of  facts  in  regard  to  the  earn- 
ings of  women  servants: 


TABLE  VII. 

Rangb   op  Wagbs   and   Avbracb  Wages    op 

Servants  in  Phii«adbi«phia 


Cou>RED  Women 


Sub-occupation. 


Brrand  girls,  etc 

Child's  nurse 

Chambermaid 

Waitress 

Waitress  and  chambermaid 

Lady's  maid 

Laundress 

Cook 

Cook  and  laundress  .... 
Chambermaid  and  laundress 

Janitress 

General  work 


Range  of  Wages. 

Average  Weekly. f 

*|o  00 —  %i  50 

$2  00 

I  50^  10  00 

3  35 

1  50—     4  00 

3  17 

I  50—     4  00 

3  31 

2  00—     3  50 

3  17 

3  50—     4  00 

363 

2   50—      7  CO 

4  04 

2  50 —    10  00 

4  02 

3  50—    5  00 

4  00 

3  25—    4  00 

358 

2  00 —    7  00 

4  06 

1  00—    5  00 

3  24 

•  That  is  to  say. ' '  living  and  tips." 

t  The  average  is  the  actual  average  for  all  cases  recorded. 

These  two  tables  show  that  in  domestic  service,  as  in  every 
other  department  of  the  economic  world,  it  is  the  office  of  skill 
or  of  trust  which  is  the  best  paid.  The  offices  of  skill  and  trust 
among  the  men  are  those  of  butler  and  valet,  or  trusted  per- 
sonal attendant.  Frequently  the  coachman  is  also  butler. 
Comparison  of  the  average  pay  of  butlers  with  that  of  waiters 
or  general  work  of  *  *  utility  men, '  *  as  they  are  called,  shows  very 
clearly  the  higher  pay  for  skilled  work.  Men-cooks'  wages  are 
here  seen  to  be  low  in  comparison  with  the  butlers*  or  coachmen's, 
— this  for  several  reasons:  first,  because  in  so  small  a  number 
as  were  encountered  one  man  receiving  only  $1.00  brings  down 
the  average  appreciably;  further,  because  in  the  wealthiest 


448       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service, 

establishments  almost  no  men-cooks  were  encountered.  The 
majority  of  men-cooks  reporting  were  employed  in  boarding 
houses,  where  presumably  the  pay  was  not  allowed  for  on  a 
lavish  scale;  but,  finally  and  chiefly,  wages  of  men-cooks  are 
lower  because  a  man  servant  who  is  a  cook  practically  com- 
petes with  the  woman-cook.  The  services  of  an  excellent 
woman  can  be  gotten  for  $4.50  or  $5.00,  while  no  woman 
can  take  the  place  of  a  butler  or  coachman;  hence  butlers' 
wages  are  not  affected  by  woman's  competition.  Doubtless 
the  same  tendency  operates  to  lower  the  wages  of  waiters,  now 
that  such  capable  waitresses  can  be  obtained.  The  same  ten- 
dency is  noticeable  in  England,  where  Mr.  Booth  says  the  but- 
ler is  **  giving  place  to  the  neat  parlor-maid.'*  In  Table  VII, 
showing  women  *s  wages,  the  skilled  specialists  are  cooks  and 
laundresses,  while  the  office  of  trust  is  held  by  the  jani tress, 
and  these  are  seen  to  head  the  list  in  the  matter  of  pay,  being 
the  only  women  domestics  who  receive  on  the  average  more 
than  $4.00.  The  Boston  Employment  Bureau  publishes  a  list* 
showing  the  same  thing.  The  average  wages  of  cooks  in 
Boston  is  given  as  $4.45,  while  chambermaids  receive  $3.86, 
waitresses  $3.76,  second  girls  $3.34  and  general  servants  $3.16. 
The  factotum,  who  does  everything  from  cooking  to  furnace 
work  and  house  cleaning,  is  evidently  not  considered  a  skilled 
hand,  nor  paid  as  such. 

Secondly,  these  two  tables  al^o  show  clearly  a  very  large  dif- 
ference between  the  pay  of  men  and  of  women  in  domestic 
service;  the  men  receiving  on  the  average  close  upon  100  j>er 
cent  more  than  the  women.  Miss  Salmon *s  averages,*  showing 
the  wages  of  men  and  of  women  domestics  throughout  the 
country,  are  $167.96  yearly  for  women  and  $373.36  yearly 
for  men.  The  difference  here  is  more  than  100  per  cent. 
These  figures,  therefore,  emphasize  this  difference  between 
men's  pay  and  women's  pay,  showing  that  men  servants  are 
generally  paid  more  than  double  the  wages  which  women 
accept. 

Are  wages  in  domestic  service  affected  by  race  or  color  ? 
How  do   theory   and  practice  agree  in  this  matter  of  wages  ? 


»  L.  M.  Salmon,  **  Domestic  Service,"  p.  90. 

•  L.  M.  Salmon,  *'  Domestic  Service,"  p.  88,  or  see  Table  X,  following. 


Grades  of  Sendee  and  Wages, 


449 


How  nearly  does  the  wage  which  ought  to  be  paid  agree 
with  the  actual  average  pay  of  domestics?  A  comparison 
of  the  figures  given  in  Table  VII,  with  the  standard 
of  wages  suggested  by  the  ladies  of  the  Philadelphia  Civic 
Club  in  the  letter  already  quoted,  is  interesting  as  showing  the 
close  agreement  between  pay  which  the  best  intelligence  of 
the  dty  believes  to  be  just  and  the  actual  average  wages  of 
Philadelphia  domestics.  The  following  table  compares  these 
average  wages  with  the  Civic  Club  estimates: 


TABLE  vni. 

Comparison  op  '*Thborbticai«  Wages"  with  Actuai«  Wagbs  op 

Domestics  in  Phii«adki*phia. 


Actual  ATera^  Wage 
of  Colored  Domeatict. 


Cooks      

Waitresses 

Chambermaids  .   .   . 
Child's  nurse     .   .    . 

Laundress 

Seamstress .   .   .   .  ^ 

or  \ 

Lady's  maid  .   .      J 


|4  02 
3  31 


3 
3 

4 


17 
35 
04 


3  63 


This  agreement  points  to  the  probability  that  among  women 
in  domestic  service  at  least,  there  is  no  difference  between 
**  white  pay  and  black  pay,*'  however  much  of  it  there  may  be 
in  other  departments  of  work  in  Philadelphia ;  for  the  Civic 
Club  estimate  is  given  for  the  whole  field  of  service,  white  as 
well  as  black.  Among  men  servants,  however,  there  probably 
is  a  variation  in  wages  determined  largely  by  color.  This  first 
became  evident  on  Rittenhouse  Square,""  where  the  colored 
butlers  encountered  were  receiving  on  the  average  $36.90 
monthly — (a  slightly  better  wage  than  that  of  the  Seventh 
Ward  employes  doing  the  same  work),  while  the  white  but- 
lers, according  to  the  statement  of  one  of  their  number,  **  gene- 
rally get  $40.00  to  $45.00  a  month  in  the  houses  that  keep  one 
man.     Where  there  are  two  men — two  white  men — the  first 


'^Rittenhouse  Square  is  not  in  the  Seventh  Ward,  but  being  probably 
the  most  fashionable  quarter  of  the  city,  was  investigated  for  purposes  of 
comparison. 

29 


450       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service, 

may  get  $50.00  and  the  second  $45.00  ;  but  there  are  not  many 
houses  that  pay  $50.00.*'  " 

The  variation  in  pay  of  colored  and  white  butlers  is  probably 
partly  due  then  to  the  fact  already  stated  that  there  are  rela- 
tively fewer  white  than  colored  men  in  service ;  thus  giving 
different  ratios  of  supply  and  demand  for  white  and  colored 
men  servants.  But  the  matter  of  fashion  counts  much.  It 
doubtless  has  more  influence  in  determining  the  pay  of  an 
employee,  who  is  as  much  in  evidence  as  is  the  butler  or  coach- 
man, than  it  has  in  fixing  the  pay  of  an  ''  invisible  employee" 
like  the  cook.  The  question  of  personal  appearance  and  fashion 
holds  also  as  between  different  grades  of  white  employees,  as 
will  be  seen  from  Mr.  Booth's  statements,  that  in  London  "a 
second  footman  of  five  feet  six  inches  would  command  ;^2o  to 
;^22,  while  one  of  five  feet  ten  inches  or  six  feet  would  not  take 
under  £2^  or  ;^30.  Again,  a  short  first  footman  could  not 
expect  more  than  ;^30,  while  a  tall  man  would  command 
;^32  to  ;^40.*'  The  same  principle  operating  in  Philadelphia 
often  obliges  colored  men,  like  short  footmen  in  London,  to  take 
what  they  can  get.  There  is  a  relativelj'  smaller  demand  for 
them  for  these  two  reasons,  and  so  their  pay  varies  from  white 
men's  pay,  while  among  the  women  those  cooks  and  maids, 
who  are  the  most  skillful,  are  in  greatest  demand  ;  so  that 
color  makes  less  difiference  in  the  women's  wages. 

Does  '* imported  service"  affect  wages  of  colored  domes- 
tic servants  in  Philadelphia  ?  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  in 
household  service,  where  hardly  anything  else  could  have 
affected  their  secure  hold  on  at  least  this  one  branch  of  employ- 
ment, fashion  has  militated  against  the  colored  people  of  Phila- 
delphia.    A  Spruce  street  colored  butler  said,  **What  are  you 

*i  The  remainder  of  this  conversation  gives  a  side  light  on  the  reason 
for  this  difiference  in  men's  wages.  The  investigator,  seeing  this  butler 
was  communicative,  said,  **  The  colored  butlers  get  less  than  that,  I  sup- 
pose you  know,  only  J30  or  {35,  and  a  few  get  $40.  Don't  you  think 
they  make  as  good  or  better  butlers  and  waiters  than  you  white  men  do  ?*' 
He  laughed  and  said,  "  Yes,  they're  better  at  that  than  we  are,  and  *' — 
in  a  half-confidential,  half-amused  tone — "they  aren't  so  lazy  as  we  are. 
We're  lazy,  but  they  are  always  anxious  to  please,  and  they  work  harder 
'an  we  do."  "  Well,  why  don't  they  get  the  same  pay,  then  ?  "  '•  Well," 
he  said,  stiffening,  '*  but  even  if  they  do,  you  don't  expect  a  white  man 
is  going  to  work  for  what  a  nigger  will  take.     You  can't  expect  that.** 


Grades  of  Service  and  Wages. 


451 


going  to  do  when  you're  shut  out  of  your  work?  I  don't 
know  no  other  country.  I  was  bom  here.  The  colored  are 
shut  out  more  than  when  I  come  to  Philadelphia  in  '65.  The 
foreigners  shut  us  out  of  even  our  ordinary  work  we've  always 
done  in  service.  I  don't  know  why  ;  because  the  colored 
people  are  just  as  good  help  as  they  ever  was.  And  the  worst 
is  it  throws  them  into  the  slums  when  they  can't  get  their  work. 
I've  been  praying  the  Lord  to  help  our  people,"  etc.  A  white 
butler  on  Rittenhouse  Square  sums  up  the  situation  from  what 
might  be  called  the  impersonal  point  of  view:  **  You  see  they 
(the  employers)  go  to  Europe  and  bring  home  Englishmen, 
and  that  knocks  out  the  Negro."  Many  colored  women — 
natives — say  that  it  is  harder  now  than  formerly  to  get  good 
places,  because  there  are  so  many  more  white  girls — foreigners — 
seeking  household  work. 

It  is  difficult  to  reduce  to  figures  information  on  this  point, 
but  the  following  enumeration  which  shows  the  distribution  of 
colored  service  with  reference  to  the  fashionable  quarter  seems 
to  confirm  the  opinions  of  the  butlers  quoted,  or  at  least  to 
indicate  that  the  people  who  employ  the  greatest  number  of 
servants  employ  fewer  colored  people  than  are  to  be  found  in 
plainer  establishments. 

TABLE  IX. 

Distribution   of    Colorbd    Sbrvicb  with    Rbpbrbncb   to   thb 

Pashionabi«b   Quartbr. 


Seven  Blocks  Bast  of  Broad  Street. 

Seven  Blocks  West  of  Broad  Street. 

On 

Spruce 
Street. 

106  domestics,  or  65  per  cent 
of  all  colored    domestic 
servants  on  Spruce  Street. 

58  domestics,  or  55  per  cent  of 
all  colored  domestic  ser- 
vants on  Spruce  Street 

On 

Pine 
Street 

99  domestics,  or  58  per  cent 
of  all   colored    domestic 
servants  on  Pine  Street. 

71  domestics,  or  42  per  cent  of 
all  colored  domestic  ser- 
vants on  Pine  Street 

The  smaller  number  of  colored  domestics  employed  in  the 
fashionable  section  is  noticeable  both  on  Pine  and  Spruce 
streets,  the  number  to  the  east  of  Broad  on  Spruce  being  very 
nearly  double  that  in  the  more  fashionable  region  to  the  west. 
The  greater  divergence  of  the  ratios  east  and  west  is  where  we 
should  expect  it  in  accordance  with  the  butler's  theory — that 


452        special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service, 


is  on  Spruce,  the  more  fashionable  street."  On  the  whole,  it 
seems  probable  that  the  fashion  of  importing  English  and 
French  service  has  an  appreciable  effect  in  the  direction  of 
complicating  Philadelphia's  Negro  problem. 

**  Importation  '*  from  the  butler's  point  of  view  is  easily  ex- 
plained. The  willingness  of  English  butlers  to  come  to 
America  is  doubtless  largely,  indeed  almost  wholly,  due  to  the 
fact  that  their  absolute  money  wages  are  so  much  higher  here 
than  in  England.  Few  of  them  are  political  economists  enough 
to  realize  that  $600  in  America  may  be  worth  only  half  that 
sum  in  England.  So  glittering  an  offer  as  that  of  **  double 
his  present  salary,"  is  eagerly  accepted  by  the  majority  of 
Englishmen  of  a  certain  grade  of  intelligence  and  this  has 
quite  definite  results  upon  the  domestic  service  of  our  large 
cities  in  America. 

In  the  table  which  follows,  the  annual  money  wages  of 
domestic  servants  in  London  are  contrasted  with  the  general 
yearly  average  wages  for  men's  and  women's  work  in  thirty- 
seven  of  our  States  and  also  with  the  wages  of  colored  domestic 

servants  in  Philadelphia. 

TABLE  X. 

Tabls  Comparing  Engi«ish  and  Ambrican  "Monby  Wagss.** 

(Aftfiual  Amounts  Over  and  Above  Board  and  Lodging,) 


Sub-occupation. 

London. * 

Colored  Domestics 
in  Philadelphia. 

United  States.f 

Philadelphia. 

1  Gen'l  Servant 
Women. ^  Housemaid 

Icook  

(Brrand  boy  .  .   . 
Men.  <  Footm'n,  Coach'n 
(Butler 

177  50 

82  50 

109  50 

55  00 
175  00 

300  00 

|i68  48 
164  84 
•09  04 

135  7a 

446  16 
(428  48  (Colored) 
1 540  00  (White) 

Average 

women's 

wages, 

I16796. 
Average 
men's 
wages, 
$373  36 

Average 

woman's 

wages, 

Si79  9». 
Average 

colored 
men's 
wages, 
S335  40 

•  Charles  Booth,  Vol.  viil,  pp.  217  and  233. 
t  Salmon,  "  Domestic  Service,"  p.  38. 


^'^  In  corroboration  of  this  belief  that  colored  men  are  displaced  by  im- 
ported English  and  foreign  men  servants  comes  the  statement  made  \x> 
the  investigator  by  the  business  manager  of  the  Continental  Hotel.  He 
says  that  the  Continental,  which  at  the  change  of  seasons  often  adds  at 
one  time  as  many  as  thirty  colored  waters  and  bellmen  to  its  force,  **caii 
always  get  as  many  colored  waiters  as  are  wanted  at  a  few  hours'  notice," 
which  certainly  indicates  that  there  are  many  unemployed  colored  men 
in  Philadelphia  who  are  anxious  to  work  but  are  crowded  out  in  the 
supply  and  demand  adjustments. 


Grades  of  Service  and  Wages.  453 

The  comparison  here  offered  shows  that  in  the  most  of  the 
sub-occupations  of  domestic  service  the  actual  sums  paid  are 
twice  as  large  in  America  as  in  London. 

The  range  of  wages  in  England  as  given  by  Mr.  Booth,  also 
strengthens  the  belief  that  American  wages  must  sound  very 
large  to  English  ears.  **  The  actual  wages  earned,"  says  Mr. 
Booth,  on  page  217  of  his  eighth  volume,  **  begin  as  low  as  one 
shilling  a  week,  this  amount  being  received  in  three  cases  (out 
of  a  total  of  1692  servants),  while  forty-two  more  were  paid 
less  than  ^^5  per  annum — at  the  other  end  of  the  scale  we  find 
three  servants  all  over  thirty  years  old,  recei\nng  from  £2b  to 
£2fi  a  year,  three  more  receiving  ;^20  and  ^^39,  others  re- 
ceiving from  ;^i5  to  ;^20.'*  To  an  American  this  sounds  far 
from  lavish  although  it  is  of  course  impossible  to  know  how 
much  this  money  is  worth  until  we  know  the  cost  of  staple 
articles  in  London.  Still  to  a  servant  who  has  been  receiving 
even  ^^36  a  year  ($180),  our  highest  women's  wage  ($520  yearly) 
would  doubtless  present  remarkable  attractions. 

Do  board  and  lodging  enter  into,  or  affect,  wages?  A 
comparison  of  the  items  of  Table  X  shows  a  very  large  dif- 
ference between  the  pay  of  American  men  servants  and 
American  women  servants.  This  seems  hardly  to  be  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  a  much  larger  per  cent  of  women  in  domes- 
tic service  than  of  men  receive  board  and  lodging  in  addition 
to  wages.  Miss  Salmon's  investigation  estimates  that  only  60 
per  cent  of  the  men  servants  receive  board  and  lodging  while 
98  per  cent  of  the  women  do. 

In  the  Philadelphia  investigation  the  facts  upon  this  point 
seem  to  indicate  that  the  amount  of  wages  is  only  slightly 
affected,  if  at  all,  by  the  question  of  board  and  lodging.  When 
these  are  given  in  addition  to  wages  they  apparently  do  not 
stand,  in  the  mind  of  either  employer  or  domestic,  as  part  pay- 
ment for  service.  A  comparison  of  the  pay  of  women-cooks 
who  lodge  at  their  place  of  work,  with  that  of  women-cooks 
who  lodge  at  home  will  illustrate  this.  The  average  pay  of 
those  who  lodge  at  their  place  of  work  and  therefore  receive 
board  and  lodging  in  addition  to  wages,  is  $4.13  as  contrasted 
with  $3.95  received  by  those  who  go  home  at  night.  Here  the 
difference  will  be  seen  to  be  in  the  opposite  direction  from  what 
we  should  expect  if  board  and  lodging  are  reckoned  as  part  of 


454       Special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 

the  wages  of  cooks.  The  same  facts  hold  good  for  the  other 
sub-occupations  among  colored  domestic  servants  in  the  ward, 
which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  in  Philadelphia, at  least  board 
and  lodging  are  customarily  given  or  not  according  as  it  suits 
the  convenience  or  the  preference  of  mistress  or  maid,  but  are 
not,  except  rarely,  considered  a  part  of  the  wages  paid  for 
service.  Many  employers  doubtless  believe  that  the  service 
rendered  by  girls  who  lodge  in  their  place  of  work  is  better, 
and  they  may  perhaps  consider  the  board  and  lodging  given, 
as  added  pay  for  better  quality  of  service.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
the  actual  money  wages  do  not  appear  to  be  affected  by  it  in 
Philadelphia,  where,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  table, 
only  50  per  cent  of  the  colored  women  in  service  and  only  24 
per  cent  of  the  colored  men  lodge  at  their  employers'  establish- 
ments. 

TABLE  XI. 

NUMBBR  AND  PBR   CBNT  OF  COI.ORKD  DOMESTIC  SBRVANTS,  BY  SBX, 

IN  Sbvbnth  Ward,  Who  Lodgb  at  Pz^cb  of  Work. 


Lodging  Place. 

Mals. 

Fbmai:,x. 

No. 

Per  Cent. 

No. 

Per  Cent. 

At  employers'  house 

At  home  or  lodgings 

38 
118 

24.4 
75-6 

207 
201 

50.7 
49-3 

Total 

156 

100. 0 

408 

lOO.O 

To  the  thoughtful  and  thrifty  colored  domestic  this  ought  to 
suggest  an  easy  way  of  saving  a  good  bit  for  the  **  old  folks  at 
home''  if  they  can  only  see  it  that  way,  for  they  reduce  the 
home  expenses  both  for  meals  and  for  rent  in  many  cases,  by 
lodging  at  place  of  work,  while  they  themselves  receive  the 
same  money  wages  and  very  likely  higher  ones,  whether  their 
board  and  lodging  comes  out  of  their  employer  or  is  drawn 
from  their  own  home  circle. 

The  majority  of  the  single  colored  girls  in  service  board  and 
lodge  in  their  employers'  establishments ;  only  38.7  per  cent 
of  them  going  home  at  night,  while  most  of  the  married 
women  in  service,  as  is  natural,  do  go  home  from  work,  only 
27.5  per  cent  of  them  lodging  in   the  employers'   house.     Of 


Grades  of  Service  and  Wages,  455 

the  men  reporting  in  regard  to  lodging  place  29  per  cent  of  the 
single  men  sleep  at  their  places  of  work,  while  71  per  cent 
have  lodgings  elsewhere.  Of  the  married  men  only  17.6  per 
cent  lodge  at  the  place  of  work  while  82.4  per  cent  lodge  at 
home. 


V. 


SAVINGS  AND  BXPBNDITURE. 

The  question  of  the  savings  of  Seventh  Ward  domestics 
would  naturally  be  discussed  here.  Table  XII  shows  the 
facts  upon  this  point.  It  is  based  upon  the  records  of  those 
who  have  been  personally  interviewed.  In  this  table  the 
**  societies  *'  referred  to  are  either  sick  benefit,  death  benefit,  or 
insurance  societies,  which  are  all  very  popular  with  the  colored 
people.  Their  tendency  to  use  this  method  of  saving  rather 
than  to  deposit  in  the  bank  is  shown  in  many  ways.  They 
frequently  express  their  distrust  of  banks  and  banking.  One 
girl  sums  up  her  philosophy  by  saying,  **  I  save  in  my  pocket. 
I*m  a  very  poor  spender,  but  I  bank  a  little  too,  only  the  banks 
are  so  shaky  I'm  afraid  of  them.  A  friend  of  mine  lost  $600 
in  the  Keystone  and  I  lost  $100  and  came  near  putting  in 
$50.00  just  the  day  before  the  bank  broke.  Yes,  I*m  afraid  of 
banks.'*  A  waiter  working  on  Spruce  near  Broad  says,  **  I've 
quit  banking.  I  lost  $300  in  the  Keystone."  This  distrust 
of  banks  is  traced  by  excellently  qualified  judges  as  far  back 
as  the  Freedman's  Bank  trouble,  and  it  seems  probable  that 
that  first  wave  of  distrust  has  been  followed  by  a  second  one, 
and  that  to  the  Philadelphia  colored  people  the  failure  of  the 
Keystone  stands  for  the  same  thing  nearer  home. 

Table  XII  shows  proportion  of  colored  domestics  who  are 
saving  and  who,  therefore,  not  only  are  not  a  burden  to  the 
community,  but  are  adding  something  to  the  sum  total  of  its 
power.     It  shows  also  the  methods  of  saving  employed. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  men  do  more  banking  in  propor- 
tion than  the  women  do,  and  less  saving  *  *  at  home  '  *  or  by 
means  of  the  benefit  societies.  Three  men  use  the  bank  where 
one  woman  does,  while  three  women  save  at  home  to  one  man 
who  does.  It  is  also  noticeable  that  the  percentages  of  those 
who  do  not  save  at  all  are  about  equal  in  both  columns 
of  Table  XII. 

(456) 


Savings  and  Expenditure. 


457 


TABLE  XII. 

Savings  op  Coi«orbd  Dombstics  in  Phu^dbi^phia. 
( By  Sex  and  by  Method  of  Saving, ) 


Method  of  Saving. 

Per  Cent  of 
Men  Who  Sare. 

Per  Cent  of 
Women  Who  Save. 

Saving  in  bank  only 

**      in  society  only 

"      in  bank  and  in  society  .   . 

"      in  society  and  owns  prop- 
erty   

*•      at  home 

**      at  home  and  society  .   .   . 

'*      in  building  association  .   . 

^'      in  bank  and  owns  prop- 
erty 

"      in  bank  and  society  and 
owns  property  or  has 
built  a  home  .... 

Not  saving  this  year 

**      atari 

28.3 
20.7 
18.6 

3.5 
6.2 

1.4 

2.1 

•         • 

4.2 
.     . 
15.0 

9-7 
30.2 

159 

1.2 

159 

4a 

.7 

1.0 

1.2 

44 
15.6 

In  contrast  with  this  15  per  cent  which  saves  nothing, 
may  be  mentioned  a  few  cases  which  seem  particularly  note- 
worthy as  examples  of  unusual  thrift : 

1.  The  case  of  a  young  chore-man  twenty  years  old,  who 
said,  **  No,  he  wasn't  saving  any  thing  to  speak  of.**  And  it 
would  have  passed  at  that,  had  not  his  employer  said,  **  Why, 
Henry,  you  know  you  bring  me  $2.00  every  month  to  save  for 
you.**  And  it  came  out  that  from  the  $14.00  he  earned 
monthly  he  was  regularly  sending  $5.00  each  month  to  his  aged 
mother  and  saving  $2.00.  The  month  before  his  report  was 
taken  he  had  sent  $10.00  to  his  mother  because  she  had  had  a 
destructive  fire  at  home  and  needed  new  articles. 

2.  The  case  of  a  man-cook  thirty-one  years  old,  who  has  been 
in  his  present  situation  over  seven  years,  and  earns  $8.00 
weekly.  Prom  this  amount  he  has  supported  his  family  and 
built  a  home  which  he  now  owns.  He  also  has  a  good  bank 
account  which,  he  says,  his  wife  doesn't  know  about.  He's 
**  going  to  surprise  her  with  it  when  he  gets  a  good  bit;  or,  if 
he  dies  she  will  have  something  to  keep  her.**  This  man  also 
kas  membership  in  two  benefit  societies. 


458        special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 

3.  The  case  of  a  young  woman  twenty-nine  years  of  age^ 
who  receives  $4.00  a  week  for  cooking.  She  sends  $10.00  a 
month  to  her  mother  who  is  a  consumptive  invalid  and  also 
**  puts  by  **  $2.00  every  month. 

4.  A  chambermaid,  a  widow  fifty-three  years  old,  who  says, 
**I*ve  got  a  little  home  in  Virginia  I  bought  and  paid  for 
myself.''  She  earns  $3.00  a  week.  She  also  has  a  bank  account 
and  belongs  to  a  sick  benefit  society. 

5.  The  case  of  a  young  woman  of  twenty-two  years  who- 
*  *  banks  half  she  earns  every  week.  *  *  She  earns  $3. 50  weekly  and 
saves  $91.00  a  year  from  her  total  yearly  earnings,  $182.00. 

6.  The  case  of  a  butler  earning  $35.00  a  month,  who  owns 
five  lots  in  Richmond,  two  more  in  New  Jersey  and  one  in 
Essington. 

7.  Another  butler  forty  years  old,  who  has  been 
twenty-three  years  in  the  same  family.  He  is  paid 
$40.00  a  month.  He  owns  a  Maryland  stock  farm  which 
his  uncle  manages  for  him,  several  lots  of  land  in  south 
Philadelphia,  has  a  term  policy  on  which  he  pays  $93.00  yearly 
and  has  membership  in  a  sick  benefit  which  insures  him  $io.oa 
a  week  in  case  of  illness. 

Perhaps  the  most  popular  way  of  saving  among  the  colored 
servants  of  Philadelphia  is  now  by  means  of  the  **  society." 
Of  all  those  reporting  on  savings  48.4  per  cent  of  the  men  and 
52.7  per  cent  of  the  women  are  saving  in  these  societies. 
Whether  this  per  cent  of  patronage  of  societies  by  domestic  ser- 
vants is  greater  or  less  than  that  for  the  whole  community,  very 
nearly  two-thirds  of  all  the  women  who  save  at  all  do  so  through 
one  or  more  societies  while  the  greater  part  of  the  other  one- 
third  do  their  saving  at  home,  *  *  in  their  pockets. '  * 

These  societies,  when  they  are  bona  fide  insurance  companies, 
often  furnish  fair  investments  to  their  contributors.  A  policy 
drawing  a  fee  of  $1.30  monthly  when  paid  up  entitles  its  holder 
to  $10.00  a  week  in  case  of  sickness.  A  policy  drawing  eighty 
cents  a  month  entitles  its  holder  to  $5.00  a  week,  sick  benefit. 
These  represent  the  sick  benefit  rates  paid  by  two  of  the  best 
and  most  reliable  societies.  The  great  value  of  such  companies 
to  such  individuals  as  are  subject  to  frequent  illness  and  have 
no  home  for  a  refuge  is  clear  at  a  glance.  But  it  often  hap- 
pens that  colored  people  who   have  iron  constitutions  will  go- 


Savings  and  Expenditure.  459^ 

into  these  societies  and  contribute  year  after  year,  reaping  no- 
benefit  because  they  are  never  ill,  and  loath  to  stop  paying 
their  fees  and  begin  to  deposit  in  the  bank  for  fear  they  should 
be  ill.  The  fact  that  this  sort  of  membership  in  sick  benefits 
is  a  very  hod  investment  was  pointed  out  to  a  certain  waiter  on 
Pine  street  who  had  paid  $30.00  a  year  for  ten  years  into  his 
two  societies,  but  had  never  drawn  a  cent  from  either  because  he 
had  never  been  sick.  The  fact  that,  had  he  banked  his  money 
he  would  have  had  now  in  hand  the  sum  of  $300,  could  not 
be  denied,  but  this  certainty  was  not  suflScient  to  stifle  the 
feeling  that  if  he  dropped  the  societies  he  **  would  lose  all  he 
had  put  in  **  and  the  question  arising,  **  suppose  I  should  be 
sick?**  which  was  not  to  be  satisfactorily  answered  by  state- 
ments of  probabilities.  The  same  thing,  grown  to  greater 
proportions,  is  seen  in  the  case  of  one  quite  aged  butler,  wha 
for  sixteen  years  has  held  policies  in  seven  societies  and  has 
never  drawn,  except  when  his  wife  died.  Many  instances 
might  be  cited  of  domestics  who  have  belonged  to  two  or  more 
societies  for  six  years  or  more  and  have  never  drawn  though 
their  policies  were  paid  up.  Several  instances  were  encountered 
of  domestics  who  were  saving  in  societies  and  also  in  the  bank, 
and  who  when  they  were  sick  drew  all  their  money  out  of  the 
bank  and  **  never  thought  of  the  society  **  and  so  did  not  draw 
at  all,  but  exhausted  their  bank  accounts  and  were  then, 
presumably,  helped  by  friends.  One  woman  who  had  been 
insured  in  one  society  for  seventeen  years  and  also  held  a  sick 
benefit,  exhausted  her  whole  bank  account  and  only  drew  on 
the  society  for  two  weeks  (although  she  was  ill  some  months) 
because  she  **didn't  think  of  it*'  till  she  had  spent  all  the 
money  she  had  in  the  bank.  All  which  goes  to  show  how 
diflBcult  it  is  for  a  people  long  unused  to  any  financial  responsi- 
bility to  adjust  their  minds  to  it  and  how  easy  a  matter  it  is 
for  unscrupulous  persons  or  societies  to  take  advantage  of  their 
simplicity. 

Assistance  Given  by  Domestic  Servants. — In  connection 
with  wages  and  savings  may  be  considered  the  matter  of 
assistance  to  dependents.     Many  colored  domestics  in  Phila- 
delphia either  wholly  support  or  very  materially  help  toward 
the  support  of  parents  or  other  members  of  the  family.     Even,. 


460       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service, 

in  many  cases,  taking  entire  care  of  more  distant  relatives, 
outside  the  immediate  home  circle. 

The  answers  to  Question  21  of  the  schedule  (**  Who  besides 
yourself  is  supported  by  your  wages?*')  were  separated  into 
four  grades  :  (i)  those  wholly  supporting  one  or  both  parents; 
<2),  those  helping  parents ;  (3),  those  wholly  supporting  others 
than  parents ;  (4),  those  helping,  but  not  wholly  supporting, 
others  than  parents. 

In  this  matter,  the  men  generally  do  less  proportionately 
than  the  women.  Of  187  men  reporting  on  this  point,  13, 
that  is  7  per  cent,  are  of  the  first  class,  who  furnish  from  their 
earnings  the  whole  support  of  one  or  both  parents  ;  40  (or  21.4 
per  cent)  are  of  the  second  class,  and  are  helping  one  or  both 
parents;  25  (or  13.4  per  cent),  are  of  the  third  class,  and  are 
supporting  some  other  member  of  the  family,  generally  some 
younger  brother  or  sister ;  while  16  (or  8.6  per  cent)  are  of  the 
fourth  class,  and  are  helping,  though  not  wholly  supporting, 
some  other  member  of  the  family;  8  (or  4.3  per  cent)  are  doing 
more  than  one  of  these  things;  e.  g.,  one  young  fellow  of 
twenty  years  who  earns  only  $3.00  a  week,  is  responsible  for 
the  support  of  his  father's  entire  family,  seven  in  number,  as 
the  father  drinks  and  can  not  be  depended  upon.  One  waiter, 
twenty-eight  years  old,  receives  $20.00  a  month  and  is  help- 
ing his  own  father  and  mother  and  both  his  wife's  parents 
also.  His  wife  too  is  earning,  so  what  it  practically  amounts 
to  is  that  the  two  young  people  are  between  them  taking  care 
of  the  four  old  people.  The  facts  gathered  in  the  Seventh 
Ward  show  50.3  per  cent  of  the  men  in  domestic  service  are 
contributing  toward  the  support  of  parents  or  others  while 
49.7  per  cent  have  no  one  but  themselves  to  look  out  for.  These 
facts  and  similar  ones  for  colored  women  domestics  are  here 
tabulated,  187  men  in  all  reported  on  this  subject  and  420 
women. 

Table  XIII  presents  approximately  the  actual  condition 
in  regard  to  responsibilities  assumed  for  the  help  or  support 
of  parents  and  others.  Whether  the  following  table,  which 
will  show  the  proportion  of  wages  thus  given,  is  equally 
reliable,  is  an  open  question.  It  is  diflScult  to  estimate  at  a 
moment's  notice  what  one  spends  or  gives  for  any  one  object. 
To  determine  with  any  degree  of  accuracy  the  amount  one 


Samngs  and  Expenditure. 


461 


TABLE  XIII. 

NUMBBR  AND  PBRCBNTAGB  OP  COI.ORBD  DOMBSTIC  SBRVANTS  IN  PhII.- 

ADBi«PHiA  Having  Parbnts  or  Othbrs  Dbpbndbnt  on  Thbm. 

{607  Cases,) 


Men.    ^S"""^^!: 
\  Per  cent . 

txr^««,««  J  Number 
Women,  j  p^^  ^^^^ 


M»' 

aiS 

II 

Help 
Parents. 

II 

[elp 
hers. 

IS 

So 

wg 

5& 

13 

16 

5« 

40 

25 

94 

7 

21.4 

13.4 

8.6 

50.3 

26 

121 

46 

48 

241 

6.2 

28.8 

II 

1 1.4 

57.4 

a  « 
o  a 


93 

49.7 
179 

42.6 


Spends  in  a  year  for  clothing  is  not  always  an  easy  thing  to  do. 
So  the  answers  given  must  involve  a  large  amount  of  involun- 
tary misstatement.  The  following  table,  therefore,  may  be 
taken  with  allowances.  It  gives  the  result  of  many  averages 
thus  hastily  struck  by  the  domestics  interviewed,  and  shows 
the  number  and  percentage  of  colored  servants  who  regularly 
give  one-half,  more  than  one-half  or  less  than  one-half  their 
wages  toward  the  support  of  those  dependent  on  them. 


TABLE  XIV. 

NUMBBR    AND    PBRCBNTAGB    OF    COI«ORBD    DOMBSTiC    SBRVANTS    OF 

Phii,adbi,phia  Supporting  Othbrs,  by  Sbz  and 
Proportion  of  Wagbs  Givbn. 


Men. 
Women.  I 


f  Number  . 

\  Per  cent  . 
Number 
Percent 


GItIor  One-half 
Total  Barnings. 


3.7  (of  187) 

30 
7.1  (of  420) 


Giving  I«ess  than 
One>half. 


22 

II.8 

71 
16.9 


Giving  More  than 
One-half. 


7 

3.7 
29 

6.9 


Many  who  do  help  their  parents  and  others  report  that 
they  **can  not  estimate  how  much  it  takes."  Fifteen,  how- 
ever, who  give  no  estimate  as  to  proportion  of  wages  given^ 
say  very  plainly  that  it  **  takes  all  I  make,**  or,  it  **  takes  every- 
thing  but  eno*  to  clothe  me.**      One  married   man  of  forty 


462       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service, 

is  supporting  his  **  sister's  little  girl,**  who,  he  says,  is  **  like 
an  adopted  child  to  us.  Her  father  and  mother  are  living  but 
they  have  three  or  four  besides  her  to  support."  This  man 
•earns  thirty  dollars  a  month,  on  which  he  supports  his  own 
family  and  his  sister's  little  girl,  and  is  also  saving  in  the  bank 
and  has  a  one-dollar  fee  in  a  sick  benefit  society. 

One  young  **  waiter-man,"  earning  twenty-five  dollars  a 
month,  is  '*  making  a  home  for  his  mother"  and  helping  three 
sisters  besides.  But  none  of  these  cases  appear  in  Table  XIV, 
since  none  of  them  could  give  any  kind  of  an  estimate  of  the 
proportion  of  earnings  given.  That  considerable  was  given  in 
each  of  these  cases,  however,  is  obvious,  and  many  similar 
instances  might  be  cited.  It  is  almost  invariably  true  of  bell- 
boys and  errand-boys  and  girls  that  they  take  their  entire 
earnings  home  to  their  parents  to  swell  the  general  store.  One 
young  bell-boy  said  that  he  ''took  all  he  earned  home  to  his 
mother  except  twenty-five  cents  he  kept  himself  and  she  saved 
that  for  him." 

Summary. — A  large  part  of  the  earnings  of  the  colored 
domestics  of  the  ward  are  thus  seen  to  go  towards  the  support 
of  parents  and  dependents.  This  generosity  towards  their 
own  will  be  attested,  it  is  believed,  by  everyone  who  has  had 
any  considerable  knowledge  of  the  colored  people.  When  one 
remembers  that  the  same  thing  is  noticeably  true  of  the  Jews, 
the  thought  naturally  occurs  that  it  is  perhaps  an  instinct  of 
self-preservation,  which  reveals  itself  among  oppressed  races. 

Again,  that  with  a  majority  of  Negroes,  some  part  of  their 
earnings  are  steadily  **  put  by  for  a  nest  ^%z'' — to  use  one  of 
their  own  quaint  expressions — will  doubtless  be  similarly  at- 
tested. There  is  of  course  much  extravagance  among 
Negroes.  Much  is  doubtless  spent  for  amusement, 
much  certainly  goes  for  finer>'.  These  outlays  are  compara- 
tively large  with  some  among  the  colored  domestics  of  Phila- 
delphia, although  the  facts  which  came  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  investigator  during  these  nine  months  in  Philadelphia 
seemed  to  indicate  that,  speaking  broadly,  the  colored  domes- 
tics of  that  city  are  a  thrifty  class  of  people. 


VI. 


AMUSBMENTS  AND  RBCRBATIONS. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  monotony  of  the  life  of 
a  domestic  employee  is  one  of  the  chief  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  many  competent  workers  who,  but  for  this,  might 
enter  service  as  a  permanent  employment.  Although 
household  work  is  less  arduous  than  many  other  forms  of  man- 
ual labor,  yet  it  is  true  of  it  more  than  of  almost  any  other  occu- 
pation that  it  demands  practically  the  whole  of  the  worker's 
time.  Nearly  all  of  the  restaurant  waiters  interviewed  have 
"only  two  hours  at  a  time,'*  and  it  will  readily  be  understood 
that  with  their  leisure  so  broken  they  find  it  difficult  to  employ 
it  to  any  very  great  advantage,  either  in  the  direction  of  study 
or  of  recreation.  The  liberty  of  the  *  *  private  waiter ' '  (except  on 
his  day  out)  is  even  less  than  that  of  the  hotel  waiter.  House- 
hold work  is  a  ceaseless  round,  which  like  woman's  work,  is 
* 'never  done."  And  the  private  domestic,  even  when  given  con- 
siderable liberty  and  free  time  while  within  the  household, 
must  always  hold  himself  in  readiness  to  answer  any  call  at  a 
moment's  notice.  All  this  is  a  very  serious  objection  in  the 
minds  of  most  young  people,  who,  as  has  been  seen,  constitute 
the  greater  part  of  domestic  service  everywhere.  Without  doubt 
it  deters  many  whites  as  well  as  blacks,  and  many  rural  as  well 
as  urban  people  from  entering  household  service.  Indeed,  it 
is  probable  that  it  determines  in  a  very  considerable  degree 
the  personnel  of  domestic  service  in  England  as  well  as  through- 
out the  United  States,  and  somewhat  modifies  its  character  in 
the  matter  of  permanence,  as  many  English  girls  prefer  factory 
work,  and  many  girls  in  our  cotton -growing  and  grape-raising 
regions,  as  well  as  in  our  factory  towns,  prefer  field  and  factory 
work  when  it  is  to  be  had,  and  only  fall  back  into  the  ranks 
of  domestic  service  when  the  season  is  passed  or  factory  work 
slack.  Of  the  restlessness  of  household  servants  in  England, 
Mr.  Booth  says :  "     *  *  Many  of  this  class  (the  middle  grade) 


u  Charles  Booth,  vol.  8,  chapter  on  Household  Service. 

(463) 


464       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 

only  go  to  service  when  factory  work  is  slack.  They 
almost  universally  stipulate  for  one  whole  day's  holiday 
in  every  month — indeed,  with  most  of  them,  this  seems  to  be 
the  one  thing  which  makes  the  servant's  life  worth  living.  .  . 
The  dullness  and  monotony  of  a  domestic  servant's  life  seems 
to  be  the  most  generally  pressing  question.  The  demand  is  for 
more  Sundays  and  evenings  out  and  a  monthly  holiday.  .  . 
Careful  mistresses  assert  that  they  find  that  even  quite  young 
girls  fresh  from  the  country  chafe  under  any  restriction  as  to 
the  manner  in  which  they  shall  spend  their  leisure,  or  as  to  be- 
ing out  late  alone." 

The  same  tendencies  are  noticeable  throughout  American 
domestic  service,  both  with  native  whites,  foreign  whites,  and 
colored  domestics.  This  dissatisfaction  is  shown  by  the  rest- 
less attempts  of  domestics  to  enter  other  occupations.  Among 
American  domestic  employees  the  country  over,  28  per  cent  are 
found  to  have  been  engaged  in  other  occupations,  such  as  hop- 
picking,  grape  and  cotton-picking  and  factory  work."  That 
these  people  are  now  employed  in  domestic  work.  Miss 
Salmon  believes,  means  not  so  much  a  preference  for  service  as 
that  it  is  a  sort  of  demiere  ressort  to  be  taken  up  only  when  no 
better  paid  or  more  popular  work  offers.  For  the  other  kinds 
of  work  named  the  employees  get  wages  so  high  as  to  enable 
them  to  live  for  a  considerable  time  in  idleness, — hence  its 
popularity  among  young  people  in  many  places. 

Among  the  colored  people  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  524 
domestics  report  in  regard  to  other  occupations.  Of  this  number 
91,  or  17.4  per  cent,  have  done,  or  attempted  to  get  the  opportu- 
nity to  do,  other  work  than  domestic  service,  and  it  is  notice- 
able that  the  employment  which  has  occupied  this  17.4  per 
cent  of  colored  domestics  has  been  very  different  in  character 
from  the  field  and  c  tory  work  attracting  young  domestics  in 
general.  Among  colored  city  domestics,  the  work  done  by  the 
women  before  entering  service  has  very  generally  been  dress- 
making, typewriting  or  teaching,  while  the  men  have  worked 
as  porters,  or  drug  clerks,  or  have  practiced  trades  or  even  pro- 
fessions. One  man  was  encountered  who  had  graduated  from 
Hampton  and  from  a  law  school  as  well,  while  several  stone- 


»*  L.  M.  Salmon,  '*  Domestic  Service,'*  p.  no. 


AmusetPtents  and  Recreations.  465 

cutters,  brick  masons  and  carpenters  were  found  who  had 
drifted  or  been  forced  into  the  ranks  of  domestic  service. 

The  chief  difference  between  the  case  of  these  Negro  domes- 
tics in  the  city  and  the  case  of  the  grape-pickers  and  factory 
hands  both  in  England  and  America  who  have  tried  to  leave 
service  for  other  work,  is  indicated  by  the  widely  different  char- 
acter of  the  work  sought  in  each  case.    The  grape-  and  cotton- 
pickers  and  the  factory  hands  leave  service  only  temporarily, 
lured  by  the  high  wages  and  the  **  liveliness  '*  of  the  work, 
fully  expecting  all  the  time  to  return  to  service  when  the  har- 
vesting is  over  and  their  wages  spent;  while  the  colored  city 
employees  who  attempt  to  get  other  work  wish  to  leave  domestic 
service  permanently.    They  wish  to  do  this  partly  because  they 
consider  that  service  savors  of  slavery  and  that  they  are  de- 
graded by  it,  and  being  ambitious  of  achieving  respectability, 
they  attempt  to  better  their  social  standing  by  becoming  teachers 
or  dressmakers;  partly  also  because  they  hope  for  higher  wages 
from  teaching  and  other  work  than  they  receive  as  domestics. 
The  difference  between  the  proportion  of  servants  the  country 
over  who  have  done  other  work  and  the  proportion  of  'colored 
domestics  in  Philadelphia  who  have  done  or  attempted  to  do 
other  work  is  a  large  one.    Twenty-eight  per  cent  of  general 
domestic  service  as  .contrasted  with  17.4  per  cent  of  colored 
domestic  service  shows  a  difference  which  is  almost  in  the  ratio 
of  five  to  three.     And  also  it  must  be  remembered — and  this 
accentuates  the  difference  still  further — that  the  colored  ser- 
vants who  have  tried  to  get  other  work  and  failed  have  also 
been  counted,  since  the  attempt  showed  their  restlessness  in 
service  and  their  desire  to  leave  it.    There  must  be  some  reason 
for  this  apparent  willingness  to  remain  in  service  on  the  part  of 
the  colored  people.     In  answer  to  the  schedule  question,  ' '  Have 
you  ever  tried  to  do  other  work  ?*'  a  large  number  of  domes- 
tics replied,  **  I  never  go  any  place  I'm  not  sure  of, — I  won't 
give  them  a  chance  to  refuse  me."     One  girl  who  had  taught 
for  four  years  and  who  thinks  she  lost  her  place  at  the  end  of 
that  time  from  prejudice  on  the  part  of  the  school-committee, 
says,  without  the  slightest  apparent  touch  of  resentment,  **  The 
reason  I  don't  try  to  teach  is  because  I  know  I'd  have  trouble, 
and  I  can  save  as  much  this  way."     Another  ex- teacher  has 
now  been  a  chambermaid  for  several  years  for  the  same  reason. 

30 


466        Special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Sen/ice. 

One  Philadelphia  carpenter  and  builder  says,  "  We  have  five 
granddaughters — my  son's  children — from  twenty-three  years 
old  to  fourteen;  and  what  can  we  do  with  tbem  ?  They  can't 
get  teachers'  places,  though  they  are  good  students.  Dress- 
making is  about  played  out.  Service  ?  They  don't  want  to  do 
Ikat.  Typewriting  is  about  the  only  hope,  and  the  oldest  one  was 
refused  that  the  other  day." 

One  man,  now  a  waiter,  was  formerly  a  stock  clerk  for  the 
Eureka  Sitk  Company,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  held  his  place 
there  for  seven  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  applied  by 
letter  for  a  similar  position  in  Philadelphia,  and  was  told  to 
"come  along;  everything  was  satisfactory;  his  record  was 
good  and  they  would  try  him."     When  he  appeared  in  person 

they  inquired,  "  Are  you  Mr.  ? "  ...  "  Well,  we  have 

another  applicant  on  file  who  is  coming  around  today.  If  we 
don't  decide  on  him  we'll  let  you  know."  He  left  his  address 
and  has  not  heard  from  the  firm  since.  He  says,  "  Waiting  is 
all  we  can  get  to  do,  and  lots  will  refuse  us  that.  No  man  as 
dark  as  I  am  could  get  work  at  one  of  the  large  apartment 
houses-  They  want  a  '  bright  skin.'  It  is  the  same  in  many 
hotels,  and  families,  too."  Another  man  states  that  when  he 
applied  for  office  work  the  clerk  to  whom  he  addressed  his 
remarks  looked  at  him  and  did  not  answer  him  at  all  ;  while 
yet  another,  a  fine  looking  young  man  of  the  type  called  a 
"brown  skin,"  said  he  had  been  refused  clerk's  work  with 
insults,  which  "  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  repeat  before 
a  lady — words  he  would  not  soil  his  lips  with."  Fortunately, 
however,  this  is  becoming  less  common.  When  colored  domes- 
tics are  refused  it  appears  to  be  generally  with  the  simple  state- 
ment that  white  help  is  preferred.  It  should  be  said  here  that 
among  those  who  said  that  they  had  never  attempted  anything 
except  domestic  employment,  fifty-two,  or  about  lo  per  cent, 
have  even  been  refused  domestic  work  when  applying  for  it. 
Some  of  these  were  inclined  to  charge  the  refusal  to  race  preju- 
dice; some  attribute  it  to  the  fact  that  unintelligent  employers 
class  all  colored  people  together;  or,  to  put  it  in  their  own  words, 
"  If  the  mistresses  has  bad  luck  with  one  colored  girl  they  wont 
never  have  another.  They  think  all  colored  is  alike."  Still 
others  think  it  is  not  a  race  question  at  all,  but  merely  one  of 
supply  and  demand.     As  one  man  put  it,  "  There  isn't  work 


Amusements  and  Recreations.  467 

enough  or  places  enough  to  go  round  ;  that's  it."  There  are 
many  well-authenticated  cases  also  of  **  light  **  colored  people 
who  have  retained  their  places  from  two  to  fifteen  years,  under 
the  impression,  on  the  part  of  the  employer,  that  they  were 
white  people ;  but  on  the  discovery  of  the  slight  tincture  of 
African  blood,  although  it  could  not  be  detected,  and  although 
the  work  had  been  entirely  satisfactory,  their  situations  were 
immediately  forfeited.  Such  instances  might  be  multiplied 
indefinitely,  as  they  were  encountered  upon  every  hand. 

In  consideration  of  all  this,  it  appears  highly  probable  that 
the  Negroes  are  deterred  in  many  cases  from  attempting  to 
obtain  other  work,  from  unwillingness  to  run  the  risk  of  insult 
or  failure.  The  moral  certainty  of  **  having  trouble  **  is  prob- 
ably sufficient  to  account  for  the  comparatively  low  percentage 
of  colored  domestics  who  have  attempted  to  leave  service,  while 
the  well-known  fact  that  so  many  industries  are  closed  against 
the  race  would  account  in  large  measure  for  the  scarcity  of 
those  who  have  actually  been  engaged  in  other  employments. 
These  facts  are  sufficient  to  explain  the  10.6  percent  difference 
in  the  two  percentages  compared. 

Judging  by  the  character  of  the  work  sought  by  the  domes- 
tics who  have  left  or  attempted  to  leave  service,  it  seems  fair 
to  conclude  that  while  the  monotony  of  service  and  the  low  pay, 
as  compared  with  harvest  wages,  are  the  chief  things  that  rural 
American  servants  have  against  it,  probably  the  chief  objection 
of  colored  city  domestics  against  service  is  the  social  stigma 
which  rightly  or  wrongly  attaches  to  it.  It  savors  to  them  of 
the  degradation  of  their  slavery  days,  while  they  believe  that 
to  be  a  teacher,  is  to  achieve  immediate  social  position  and 
become  a  respected  member  of  the  community.  Colored  city 
domestics  seek  other  work,  therefore,  from  the  desire  to  escape 
social  degradation  first,  from  the  desire  for  greater  personal 
freedom  next,  and  finally  from  the  hope  of  higher  remuneration. 

But  while  the  social  stigma  is  the  city  Negro's  chief  objec- 
tion to  domestic  service  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  from  his 
point  of  view  this  dullness  of  the  life  is  one  of  its  most  serious 
drawbacks — the  most  serious  probably  with  the  exception  of  the 
one  already  named.  That  the  monotony  of  service  is  as  keenly 
felt  by  the  colored  people,  as  by  any  other  domestics,  may 
easily  be  inferred  both  from  the  well-known  fact  of  the  natural 


468       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service, 

joyousness  and  gaiety  of  the  Negro's  disposition,  and  also  from 
the  fact  shown  in  Table  XI,  that  so  large  a  proportion  of  them, 
as  compared  with  other  domestics,  stipulate  for  the  freedom  of 
their  evenings.  It  was  found  from  schedules  relating  to  564 
cases,  that  75.6  per  cent  of  all  the  Negro  men  servants  inter- 
viewed and  49,3  per  cent  of  all  the  women  servants  go  home 
from  work.  When  this  is  contrasted  with  the  per  cent  of 
domestic  servants  the  country  over,  who  go  home  from  work, 
we  find  a  remarkable  divergence.  In  general  service  "  40  per 
cent  of  the  men  and  only  2  per  cent  of  the  women  lodge  at 
home,  that  is  to  say,  outside  the  establishment  of  the  employer. 
This  seems  to  show  clearly  the  greater  tendency  of  the  colored 
domestic  to  escape  from  the  solitary  confinement  to  which  our 
present  system  of  household  management  condemns  all  the 
servants  in  ''single  handed''  places.  It  should  be  marked, 
however,  that  the  per  cents  relating  to  Philadelphia  colored 
people  here  are  based  on  less  than  600  schedules,  while  those 
relating  to  general  service  are  based  upon  over  2500.  Also,  it 
is  much  oftener  the  case  among  colored  domestics  that  they 
work  in  the  same  city  in  which  their  families  and  friends  live, 
while  many  white  women  domestics  have  no  home  nearer  than 
Ireland  or  Sweden,  and  so  they  naturally  lodge  at  their  work- 
ing places,  while  the  colored  women  as  naturally  lodge  at  home 
when  it  is  possible  to  do  so. 

Questions  will  arise  as  to  the  amount  of  leisure  time  usually 
granted  to  colored  domestics  and  how  this  leisure  is  employed. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  tabulate  the  statements  returned  in 
answer  to  the  question,  **  Number  of  hours  free  each  month," 
but  it  may  be  said  in  general  that  a  very  great  number  of  dif- 
ferent arrangements  obtain  even  in  this  one  ward  of  one  city. 
The  most  of  them  include  one  afternoon  each  week  and  the 
evening  or  the  afternoon  and  evening  of  alternate  Sundays.  For 
the  greater  number  of  both  men  and  women  domestics  report 
this  amount  of  leisure  while  some  are  allowed  only  one 
afternoon  and  every  third  Sunday  or  one  afternoon  and  every 
fourth  Sunday.  Still  a  considerable  number  are  given  the 
usual  afternoon  of  a  week  day  and  every  Sunday  afternoon 
as  well.      Some  have  their  afternoon  and  alternate  Sundays 


"L.  M.  Salmon,  "  Domestic  Service,**  p.  92.    Based  on  2545  cases. 


Amusements  and  Recreations.  469 

and  one  or  more  evenings,  and  a  considerable  number  have 
this  arrangement  with  the  freedom  of  aJl  their  evenings. 
While  still  others  have  two  afternoons  weekly  and  alternate 
Sundays.  The  whole  holiday  every  month  which  is  so  dear  to 
the  English  household  servant  is  not  found  in  American 
domestic  service.  No  Negro  employee  in  the  Philadelphia 
ward  investigated  reported  such  a  whole  holiday,  however 
liberal  might  be  the  leisure  granted  in  the  shape  of  parts  of 
different  days ;  and  Miss  Salmon's  treatment  of  the  subject 
mentions  no  whole  day  of  leisure  for  domestics,  but  states  that 
"in  the  case  of  more  than  1000  employees  at  least  one  after- 
noon each  week  is  given,  while  more  than  400  employers  give 
a  part  of  Sunday." 

The  question  how  their  leisure  is  employed  was  answered  by 
only  257  colored  domestics,  of  whom  206  were  women  and  only 
51  were  men.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  tabulation  of  these 
returns  that  the  Negro  church  is  very  closely  bound  up  with 
the  problem  of  the  recreations  of  the  Negro  people,  and  in  this 
connection  a  word  of  explanation  is  necessary  to  acquaint  the 
general  reader  with  the  status  of  the  Negro  church.  To  quote 
from  a  well-known  American  scholar  and  writer  who  is  an 
authority  upon  race  questions :  *'  Among  most  people  the 
primitive  sociological  group  was  the  family  or  at  least  the  clan. 
Not  so  among  American  Negroes ;  such  vestiges  of  primitive 
organization  among  the  Negro  slaves  were  destroyed  by  the 
slaveship.  In  this  country  the  first  distinct  voluntary  organi- 
zation of  Negroes  was  the  Negro  church.  The  Negro  church 
came  before  the  Negro  home  ;  it  ante-dates  their  social  life,  and 
in  every  respect  it  stands  to-day  as  the  fullest,  broadest  expres- 
sion of  organized  Negro  life.  .  .  .  We  are  so  familiar  with 
churches,  and  church  work  is  so  near  to  us,  that  we  have  scarce 
time  to  view  it  in  perspective  and  to  realize  that  in  origin  and 
functions  the  Negro  church  is  a  broader,  deeper  and  more  com- 
prehensive social  organism  than  the  churches  of  white  Ameri- 
cans. The  Negro  church  is  not  simply  an  organism  for  the 
propagation  of  religion ;  it  is  the  centre  of  social,  intellectual 
and  religious  life  of  an  organized  group  of  individuals.  It  pro- 
vides social  intercourse,  it  provides  amusements  of  various 
kinds,  it  serves  as  a  newspaper  and  intelligence  bureau,  it 
supplants  the  theatre,  it  directs  the  picnic  and  excursion,  it 


470       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Seruice. 


furnishes  the  music,  it  introduces  the  stranger  to  the  community, 
it  serves  as  a  lyceum,  library  and  lecture  bureau  ;  it  is,  in  fine, 
the  central  organ  of  the  organized  life  of  the  American  Negro, 
for  amusement,  relaxation,  instruction  and  religion.  To  main- 
tain its  pre-eminence  the  Negro  church  has  been  forced  to 
compete  with  the  dance-hall,  the  theatre  and  the  home  as  an 
amusement-giving  agency.  Aided  by  color  proscription  in 
public  amusements,  aided  by  the  fact  mentioned  before — that 
the  church  among  us  is  older  than  the  home — the  church  has 
been  peculiarly  successful,  so  that  of  the  10,000  Philadelphia 
Negroes  whom  I  asked,  *  Where  do  you  get  your  amusements  ? ' 
fully  three-quarters  could  only  answer,  *  From  the  churches. '  "  " 
This  centralization  of  amusements  about  the  church  shows 
itself  very  conspicuously  in  the  following  tabulation  based  on 
257  records : 


TABLE  XV. 
Lbisurb  TnfB  OP  Coi^orbd  Dombstics— How  Bmpix>ybd. 


Usual  Recreation. 


Church  and  church  entertainieuts  and 
at  home .... 

Church  and  visits  to  friends 

Church  and  home  (occasional  concert 
or  theatre) 

Church  and  study 

Theatre,  concerts,  balls,  bicycling,  etc. 

Home  resting  (women  '*  home  resting 
and  sewing") 


Malb. 


No. 


4 
II 

4 
10 

5 
17 


51 


Per  Cent. 


7.8 
21.6 

7.8 

19.6 

9.8 

33-4 


Pbmajlb. 


No.       Per  Cent 


69 
22 

15 
29 

10 
61 


206 


33.5 
10.7 

7.3 

14. 1 

4.8 
29.6 


If  these  figures  may  be  taken  as  typical  nearly  57  per  cent  of 
the  Negro  men  and  nearly  66  per  cent  of  the  Negro  women  in 
domestic  service  look  to  the  churches  and  the  church  entertain- 
ments for  all  their  recreations  except  those  engaged  within 
the  precincts  of  their  own  homes,  such  as  home  studies,  music 
and  social  visits.     Indeed  the  number  who  depend  upon  the 


»T  Dr.  W.  E.  B.  DuBois,  in  the  **  College  Settlement  News,'*  Philadel- 
phia,  July,  1897.    See  also  page  197  etseq,^  in  this  volume. 


Amusements  and  Recreations.  471 

church  in  this  matter  should  be  even  greater  than  these  figures 
indicate,  since  it  is  true  that  many  of  those  reporting  that  they 
spend  their  leisure  ''at  home,  resting/'  or  " at  home,  sewing 
and  clearing  up,''  also  in  most  cases  report  in  answer  to  ques- 
tion twenty-three  of  the  schedule,  the  church  of  which  they 
are  members  and  whose  regular  services  they  regularly  attend. 
Of  the  seventeen  men  reporting  that  their  leisure  is  spent  in 
"resting  up "  only  two  report  that  they  attend  no  church  and 
of  the  sixty-one  women  thus  classified  only  four  attend  no  church. 
If  we  count  these  **  at  home  "  domestics  then  where  they  really 
belong,  with  the  church-goers,  we  shall  have  93.2  per  cent  of 
the  women  and  86.3  per  cent  of  the  men  among  domestics  who 
depend  on  the  church  for  their  lectures,  libraries,  musicales, 
festivals,  etc.,  as  well  as  for  their  religious  instruction  and 
uplift.  This  gives  a  combined  average  of  91.8  per  cent  of  all 
colored  domestics  whose  usual  entertainment  and  instruction  is 
of  this  kind. 

A  comparison  of  the  per  cents  of  those  whose  leisure  is 
chiefly  devoted  to  study  shows  that  19.6  per  cent  of  the  men 
are  so  classified  to  14.  i  per  cent  of  the  women.  Nearly  a 
third  of  the  women  so  classed  are  music  students;  and  if  these 
are  counted  out  we  shall  have  only  9.7  per  cent  of  the  women 
domestics  devoting  their  leisure  chiefly  to  study  and  reading. 
One  young  waiter,  a  West  Indian,  was  devoting  his  spare  time 
to  the  study  of  English  and  meantime  was  taking  his  directions 
from  his  employer  in  French.  Another  waiter  reported  that 
he  read  "the  classics"  in  his  spare  hours,  and  still  another 
confessed  to  a  fondness  for  "the  poets "  while  at  the  same  time 
he  offered  a  pleasing  contrast  to  many  of  the  poets  he  admired, 
in  having  his  collar  and  white  tie  and  complete  costume  quite 
faultlessly  neat  and  well  ordered.  The  mistress  of  one  house- 
hold says,  "  Our  waiter  has  the  education  of  a  gentleman," 
but  on  the  other  hand  one  employer  whose  judgments  were 
evidently  free  from  bias  says,  "  Our  man  may  be  a  good  lawyer 
but  he  certainly  is  not  a  good  waiter."  This  was  however 
the  only  adverse  criticism  offered  in  regard  to  any  of  the 
domestics  who  were  students  and  readers.  It  appears  that 
educated  domestics  are  generally  no  worse  workers  than  others, 
if  they  are  no  better.  In  at  least  two  cases  it  appeared  that 
the  educated  domestic  did  better  household  work  than  others. 


473       SpecicU  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 

These  were  a  cook  and  maid  whose  employer  said  both  her 
girls  read  a  great  deal  and  apparently  spent  their  time  upon 
good  literature;  her  cook  was  then  reading  *' Hyperion,"  she 
said.  The  question  naturally  followed,  "  Is  shea  good  cook  ?" 
"  Yes,  I  have  never  had  a  more  efficient  girl  "  was  the  ready 
reply,  '*  and  I  have  employed  both  white  and  colored.  These 
are  two  of  the  cleanest  girls  I  have  ever  had  in  the  house." 

Several  of  the  women  servants  reported  their  leisure  devoted 
chiefly  to  "  literaries,"  all  of  which,  so  far  as  the  investigator 
was  able  to  learn,  were  connected  with  the  churches.  These 
students  and  readers  among  domestic  servants  doubtless  are 
the  more  ambitious  ones  who  are  anxious  to  improve  every 
opportunity  with  the  hope  of  finally  working  their  way  out  of 
service.  This  high  per  cent  of  readers  among  colored  domestics, 
20  per  cent  of  the  men  and  10  per  cent  of  the  women,  ought 
not  to  be  surprising  however,  when  we  remember  that  10  per 
cent  of  these  people  have  had  some  training  higher  than  the 
common  school  and  might  therefore  be  expected  to  have  lit- 
erary taste. 

In  regard  to  the  home-keeping  domestics,  if  the  first  and  last 
classes  in  Table  XV  be  combined,  we  find  41.2  per  cent  of  home- 
keeping  women  domestics  who  are  either  at  home  or  at  their 
churches  during  their  leisure  time.  At  the  Pennsylvania 
Hospital  the  investigator  was  informed  by  one  of  the  officials 
in  charge  that  more  late  passes  were  given  to  the  white  than 
to  the  colored  servants,  and  there  are  about  equal  numbers  of 
each  race  employed. 

The  church  affiliation  of  colored  domestic  servants  in  Phila- 
delphia may  be  given  in  this  connection.  Reports  from  548 
persons  were  received  on  this  point,  400  women  and  148  men. 
The  following  table  shows  the  various  denominations  by 
number  and  per  cen  t : 


Amusemenis  and  Recreations. 


473 


TABLE  XVI. 

Church  Affiuation  op  Coi«ored   Dombstics  in  thb  Sbvbnth 

Ward  op  Phii«adbi.phia. 


Church. 


Methodist 

Baptist 

Episcopal     

Presbyterian    .... 

Catholic 

Attending  all  churches 
Attending  no  church 

Total 


mbn. 

TH 

No. 

Per  Cent, 

63 
52 

42.6 
35.1 

184 
160 

14 

9.4 

24 

5 
10 

3.4 
6.8 

7 
18 

2 

1.4 

6 

2 

1.3 

I 

148 

loa 

400 

WOMBN. 


Per  Cent. 

46.0 

40.0 

6.0 

1.7 
4.5 
1.5 
0.3 

ICO. 


These  per  cents  are  united  into  combined  averages  and  rep- 
resented in  graphic  form  in  the  following  diagram : 


Diagram  Showing  Church  Appiuation  op  thb  Coi^orbd  Dombstic 

Sbrvants  op  thb  Sbvbnth  Ward  op  Phii«adbi4*hia. 

o         10       2o       SO        4.0      so       60        70       ao        90      100 


^    IS 


HCIMOUSI   BAPTIST      EPfSCOnU.'  MtSBYTERIAN  UTHOUC'  ALLOTMCm. 


VII. 


LENGTH  AND  QUALITY  OP  NEGRO  DOMESTIC  SERVICE: 

In  regard  to  length  of  service,  we  have  284  reports  frota 
men  employed  in  domestic  service,  and  591  from  women,  875. 
altogether. 

Of  these  213  are  from  men  personally  interviewed,  and  since 
this  question  was  uniformly  asked,  these  213  reports  will  rep- 
resent the  service  of  the  rank  and  file  of  men  servants. 

The  remaining  71  were  recorded  upon  the  family  schedules, 
and  were  obtained,  therefore,  from  the  statements  of  their 
parents  or  sisters,  and  since  no  question  regarding  length  of 
service  appears  in  the  family  schedule,  this  information  was 
evidently  volunteered.  From  this  fact  it  seems  probable  that 
the  length  of  service  in  these  71  cases  was  put  forward  as  being 
something  unusual,  as  indeed  it  is,  including  as  it  does,  7  rec- 
ords of  10  to  15  years  service  with  one  family,  12  records  of  i& 
to  20  years,  and  10  records  of  over  20  years  of  service,  one 
coachman  having  served  41  years  in  the  same  family.  In  view 
of  the  nature  of  this  information  it  has  been  kept  separate 
from  the  other  records  and  dealt  with  by  itself  in  order  to* 
avoid  misrepresentation  of  facts. 

The  service  periods  shown  in  these  71  records  range  from  2- 
to  41  years,  the  average  service  period  being  11  years  and  5. 
months. 

TABLE  XVII. 

{Domestic  Service.) 

Sbrviqe  Periods  of  Seventy-one  *' Long-service  Men**  in  the 

Seventh  Ward  of  Phii^delphia. 


Serricc  Periods  (in  years) 

1-5 

6-9 

10-15 

16-20 

Ovcrao. 

Number  of  men  servants 

20 

22 

7 

12 

10 

The  following  table  (No.  XVIII)   gives    the  nativity  of 
these  71  **  long-service  men.** 

(474) 


Length  and  Quality  of  Negro  Domestic  Service.    475 


TABLE   XVIII. 
{Domestic  Service,) 

NaTIYITY  op  SBVSNTY-ONB  *'  LONG-SKRVIOS  MBN  *'  IN  THB  SKVENTa 

Ward  op  Phii«adki.phia. 


Birthplace. 

Nttmber. 

Per  Cent. 

Philadelphia  ... 

6 

7 

7 

15 
20 

5 

3 

4 

3 
I 

9.9 
2I.I 

Pennsylvania 

District  of  Colombia 

Maryland 

Virginia 

Delaware 

New  Jersey 

28.2 
7.0 
4.2 
5.6 
4.2 

North  Carolina 

The  South 

New  York 

1.4 

**"T 

Total 

71 

lOO. 

Here  the  18.4  per  cent  from  Philadelphia  agrees  with  the 
Philadelphia  percentage  in  Table  II,  and  also  the  28.2  per  cent 
from  Virginia  corresponds  very  nearly  with  the  parallel  record 
in  that  table  which  shows  27.9  per  cent  of  the  total  domestic 
service  of  Philadelphia  coming  from  Virginia.  Turning  to- 
consider  the  pay  of  these  long-service  men,  it  is  found  that  of 
these  71  men  20  are  coachmen,  while  51  are  **  private  waiters. '*^ 
The  following  table  gives  their  range  of  wages  and  average 
wages.  The  general  average  wage  will  be  seen  to  approach 
close  upon  $9.00  a  week. 


TABLE  XIX. 

{Domestic  Service, ) 

Wages  op  Sbventy-onb  ''  Long-skrvicb  "  Mbn  in  thb  Sbvbnth. 

Ward  op  Phii«adblphia. 


Sub-occupation. 

Range  of  Wages. 

Average  Weekly  Wage. 

Coachman 

Private  waiter  .   .   . 

|8  00-I14  00  (weekly) 
4  00-  10  00        ** 
General  average  wage 

|io  74 
8  10 
|8  84  (weekly) 

476       special  Report  an  Negro  Domestic  Service. 

With  these  facts  concerning  service  periods,  nativity  and 
wages  of  *' long-service  men/*  it  may  be  interesting  to  compare 
the  same  facts  for  the  men  of  the  rank  and  file.  With  the 
**  rank-and-file  men  **  the  service  periods  vary  fix)m  a  few  days 
to  31  years,  the  average  period  being  4  years  6  months  and 
some  days,  a  considerable  contrast  with  the  11  years  and  5 
months  of  the  long-service  men. 

In  the  following  table  the  nativity  of  the  long-service  men 
and  that  of  the  rank-and-file  men  are  brought  together: 


TABLE  XX. 


{Domestic  Service,) 
Nativity  op  "  Rank-and-Piia  Mbn  '*  Comparbd  with  Nativitt 

OF  '' LONG-SBRVICS  MBN  "  IN  THB  SBVBNTH  WARD. 


Birthplace. 

Per  Cent  of 
Rank-and-Pile  Men. 

Per  Cent  of 
IfOng-service  Men. 

Philadelphia 

Pennsylvania 

District  of  Columbia     .    . 

Maryland      

Virginia 

Delaware 

New  Jersey 

North  and  South  Carolina  .   . 

34.2 

6.6 
2.6 

5.3 

5:|}i8.4 

9-9 
21.1 

28.2 

7.0 

4.2 
5.6 

In  this  table  as  in  previous  ones,  Maryland  and  Virginia  are 
seen  to  be  far  in  the  lead  in  the  matter  of  furnishing  the 
domestic  service  of  the  Seventh  Ward  of  Philadelphia.  Here 
indeed,  the  Virginia  record  rises  to  a  number  almost  twice  as 
great  as  that  furnished  by  both  Philadelphia  and  Pennsylvania 
taken  together;  although  the  percentage  from  the  State  here 
practically  agrees  with  that  of  the  long-service  men.  The 
facts  in  regard  to  range  of  wages  and  average  wages  of  coach- 
men and  private  waiters  in  the  '*rank  and  file**  of  service  in 
the  Seventh  Ward  are  given  in  Table  XXI,  which  follows: 


Length  and  Quality  of  Negro  Domestic  Service.    477 

TABLE  XXI. 

{Domestic  Sertnce.) 

Wagbs  op  " RANK-AND-Pnje  Men"  in  the  Seventh  Ward  of 

Phii^delphia. 


Sub-occupation. 

Range  of  Wages. 

Average. 

Coachman      .... 
Private  waiter  .   .   . 

|5  00  to  |i4  00 
2  00  to     8  00 
General  average 

18  58 
6  14 
|6  55  (weekly) 

A  comparison  of  this  with  the  average  pay  of  the  ''long- 
service  men"  (whose  average  coachman's  wage  is  $10.74, 
while  their  average  waiter's  wage  is  $8.10  and  their  general 
average  wage  is  $8.84,  nearly  $9.00),  would  seem  to  point  to 
the  possibility  that  length  of  service  may  have  some  occult 
connection  with  length  of  pocketbook,  and  (that  the  "  giving 
satisfaction"  may  not  be  all  on  one  side  of  the  line  in  the 
domestic  service  question.  Of  course  it  is  true  that  a  bad  ser- 
vant can  not  command  high  wages,  also  it  is  impossible  to 
transform  a  poor  servant  into  a  good  one  by  paying  him  high 
wages;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  true  that  good  service  can 
not  be  obtained  without  paying  good  wages  for  it 

Schedules  giving  service  periods  of  colored  women  employed 
in  the  Seventh  Ward  show  591  records,  only  six  of  which  were 
volunteered  as  unusual,  as  in  the  case  of  the  long-service  men 
given  above;  in  view  of  the  smallness  of  this  number  these  six 
schedules  have  not  been  dealt  with  separately;  but  the  women 
who  have  served  five  years  and  over  have  been  isolated,  irre- 
spective of  the  manner  in  which  the  information  was  obtained, 
and  their  statements  separately  treated  as  in  the  case  of  the 
long-service  men. 

These  **  long-service  women  "  who  have  served  five  years 
and  more  show  178  records;  the  range  of  service  periods  is 
from  five  to  thirty-five  years,  the  average  being  six  years  and 
eight  months. 

The  range  of  service  periods  of  ''rank-and-file  women" 
varies  from  one  day  to  five  years,  while  their  average  service 
period  is  found  to  be  three  years  and  six  months,  only  about 
one-half  the  service  period  of  the  long-service  women. 


47  &        special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service, 

Their  nativity  and  that  of  the  ''rank-and-file  women"  are 
^ven  together  for  purposes  of  contrast  and  show  the  following 
facts: 

TABLB  XXn. 

{Domestic  Service,) 

Nauvity  op  "Long-skrvick  Women"  Compared  with  Nativity 
OP  "Rank-and-Pii,e  Women  "  in  Seventh  Ward. 


Btrthplace. 

Per  Cent  of 
I/>ng-senrice  Women. 

Per  Cent  of 
Rank-and-Pile  Women. 

Philadelphia  .... 
Pennsylvania    .   . 
District  of  Columbia 

Maryland 

Virginia 

Delaware 

New  Jersey    ... 
N.  and  S.  Carolina  . 

South 

"Scattering 

3.0 
20.3 
27.1 

6.i 

3.0 
3.7 
1.5 

100. 

4.6 
20.5 

34.8 
6.5 
4-1 

4-3 
4.2 
2.2 

100. 

According  to  this  record  a  greater  proportion  of  "  long- 
service  women"  come  from  Philadelphia  and  Pennsylvania, 
which  is  not  the  case  in  Table  XX,  contrasting  nativity  of 
the  men. 

The  following  tables  show  the  range  of  wages  and  average 
wage  for  each  of  the  classes  of  women  servants  here  considered: 


TABLE  XXIII. 

(Domestic  Service,) 

Wages  op  ** Long-service  Women"  in  the  Seventh  Ward  op 

Phii^adblphia. 


Sub-occupation. 

Range  of  Wages. 

Average  Wage. 

Weekly.  Monthly. 

Cook  (or  laundress) 

Chambermaid  (or  waitress)  .   .   . 
-General  housework 

fe  00-  |7  00 
3  00-    4  00 
I  50-  10  00 
Gen'l  average  wage 

$4  21      |l8  22 
3  50       15  17 
3  50       15  17 
3  67       15  90 

Length  and  Quality  of  Negro  Domestic  Service.    479 

{In  this  table  and  the  one  following  4^  weeks  have  been 
reckoned  to  a  month.) 


TABLE  XXIV. 

{Dotnestic  Service,) 

Wagbs  of  '*  Rank-and-Fua  Woman  "  in  thb  Ssvbnth  Ward  of 

Phii«adbi«phia. 


Sub-occupation. 


Cook  .... 
Chambermaid 
General  .  .  . 


Range  of  Wages. 


$2  5O-I1O  00 

I  50-    4  00 
I  00-    4  00 
Gen'l  average  wage 


ATerage  Wage. 


Weekly.  Monthly. 


fo  99  <I7  29 

3  21  13  91 

2  99  12  96 

3  26  14  12 


By  comparing  the  last  two  tables  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
wage  varies  less  between  long  service  and  ordinary  service 
women  than  in  the  case  of  the  men.  The  ordinary  cook's 
wage,  $3.99,  compares  more  favorably  with  $4.21,  the  long- 
service  cook's  wage,  than  does  $8.58,  the  ordinary  coachman's 
wage,  with  $10.74,  the  wage  of  the  long-service  coachman,  and 
the  contrasts  throughout  will  be  seen  to  be  less  pronounced  in 
the  women's  than  in  the  men's  wages. 

But  if  the  wage  of  ordinary  .service  and  long  service  varies 
less  among  the  women  than  among  the  men,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  length  of  service  varies  less  among  the  women 
than  among  the  men.  The  average  service  periods  of  two 
classes  of  men  servants  are  four  years  six  months,  and  eleven 
years  five  months,  the  one  being  two  and  one-half  times  as  great 
as  the  other;  while  the  average  service  periods  of  the  two 
classes  of  women  are  three  years  six  months,  and  six  years 
eight  months,  t}ie  one  being  not  quite  twice  the  other;  hence, 
the  narrower  variations  in  wages  of  women  as  compared  with 
those  of  men  would  corroborate  the  theory  of  the  close  connec- 
tion of  quality  of  service  and  consequent  length  of  service 
with  high  wages,  rather  than  weaken  that  theory.  Also  it 
is  true  that  in  spite  of  the  occasionally  greater  range  in  the 
wages  paid  to  the  ''rank  and  file,"  the  average  wages  of  the  long- 
service  domestics,  both  men  and  women,  are  uniformly  greater 


480       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 

than  the  average  wages  paid  to  the  ''  rank  and  file."  Combin- 
ing the  average  service  periods  of  the  long  service  domestics 
with  those  of  the  ''  rank  and  file  "  gives  us"a  combined  average 
of  six  years  and  one  month  as  the  average  service  period  of 
colored  men  servants,  and  four  years  and  five  months  as  the 
average  service  period  of  colored  women  servants  in  Philadel- 
phia. Again,  uniting  these  averages  of  servants  of  both  sexes 
in  Philadelphia,  gives  the  combined  average  service  period  for 
ail  colored  domestics  in  the  Seventh  Ward  of  Philadelphia.  This 
combined  average  service  period  is  4.96  years,  that  is  to  say, 
five  years  lacking  less  than  one  month.  It  is  based  on  875 
records:" 

This  offers  a  decided  contrast  with  the  average  length  of  ser- 
vice of  domestics  the  country  over,  which  average  service 
period,  Miss  Salmon  states,  "  is  found  to  be  less  than  one 
year  and  a  half."  " 

This  contrast  in  service  periods  may  be  made  clearer  by  the 
following  graphic  representation,  showing  length  of  service 
period  of  Negroes  and  of  general  domestic  service  in  the  United 
States,  given  in  terms  of  a  common  unit  of  length. 

Length  of  Sbrvice. 


ccN^  SERvice 

(ALL  DOMESTICS  IN  U.SJ 

COLORED  DOMESTIC  SERVICE 

(in  PHIUAOCLPHIA) 


These  service  periods  will  be  seen  to  stand  to  each  other  in 
the  ratio  of  about  3  to  10,  and  may  have  some  connection 
with  the  relative  numbers  of  white  and  Negro  domestics.  It 
may  be  that  the  Negro  service  period  is  three  times  as  long  as 
the  average  service  period,  because  there   are  three  times  as 


"Some  time  after  the  beginning  of  the  investigation  it  was  found  to  be 
practicable  to  get  two  records  of  length  of  sendee  from  each  individual 
interviewed  by  adding  the  question,  *•  How  long  were  you  in  your  last 
place  ?"  This  question  was  then  uniformly  asked,  which  accounts  for 
875  records  of  length  of  service  from  only  616  people  personally 
interviewed.  It  must  also  be  noted  that  the  average  is  high,  partly 
because  the  number  of  cases  is  small  and  includes  a  few  cases  of  excep- 
tionally long-service  periods. 

"  L.  M.  Salmon,  **  Domestic  Service,"  p.  109. 


Length  and  Quality  of  Negro  Domestic  Service,    481 

many  Negro  servants  proportionately,  and  therefore  three  times 
as  many  chances  for  capable  servants  to  be  found  among  them. 
Another  possible  explanation  of  the  longer  period  of  colored 
domestics  may  be  their  greater  docility  as  servants.  As  one 
employer  whose  name  is  well  known  in  Philadelphia  circles 
has  said  of  colored  domestics:  *'If  you  get  a  good  class  of 
colored  people  they  are  the  most  faithful,  honest  and  biddable 
servants  in  the  world."  This  docility  which  is  a  recognized 
trait  of  the  Negro  character,  has  doubtless  been  developed  by 
slavery,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  it  has  been  still  further  culti- 
vated in  these  later  days  by  their  knowledge  that  losing  their 
places  in  service  may  mean  inability  to  get  work  of  any  kind 
for  an  indefinite  period.  However,  if  we  may  judge  from  the 
remarks  of  a  certain  colored  waitress  upon  length  of  service, 
the  Negroes  feel  that  there  is  a  point  beyond  which  docility 
and  a  respectful  bearing  cease  to  be  virtues.  As  she  had 
held  her  own  situation  for  twenty-two  years,  her  remark  may 
fairly  be  taken  as  unaffected  by  personal  considerations.  She 
said :  **  Yes,  they  say  long  service  is  good  service,  but  some- 
times you  can't  stay  at  places  ;  some  of  the  ladies  an'  gentle- 
men's not  very  pleasant ^  An  employer,  on  the  same  point, 
says :  "It  isn't  the  servants  any  more  than  it  is  the  mistresses 
who  are  responsible  for  the  frequent  changes  of  place."  She 
thinks  that  **it  varies  with  the  individual,  not  with  the  race." 
Many  of  the  employers  who  discussed  the  subject  with  the 
investigator  said  that  their  experience  was  that  colored  servants 
were  **  more  respectful "  (six  said  this),  **  less  impertinent "  (2), 
**  very  anxious  to  please  "  (2),  **  more  agreeable  and  obliging 
and  have  nicer  manners  "  (4). 

A  third  possible  explanation  of  the  longer  period  of  service 
among  colored  domestics  may  be  found  in  the  fact  frequently 
adduced  by  their  employers,  that  they  "  are  much  more  likely 
than  white  girls  to  become  attached  to  the  family" — so  they 
naturally  stay  longer  in  one  place  than  others  do.  Another 
employer  says:  **When  they  become  fond  of  you  they  are 
very  staunch  friends,  *  *  and  yet  another,  says  of  them  :  * '  They 
are  much  more  loyal  and  infinitely  more  affectionate  than  white 
servants.  They  have  shown  me  absolute  loyalty  in  service." 
This  is  significant  as  being  the  testimony  of  a  Northern  woman 
who  had  "never  seen  a  colored  servant"  before  she  was 


482       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 


married  and  who  employed  them  for  the  first  time  on  coming 
to  Philadelphia  and  now,  after  sixteen  years,  "would  never 
have  any  one  else." 

The  question  whether  one  State  or  one  section  furnishes 
better  domestics  than  another  State  or  section  is  interesting, 
and  has  its  bearing  on  the  point  under  discussion.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  the  Philadelphia  colored  people  represent  a  higher 
grade  socially  and  intellectually,  than  the  Negroes  of  the 
South — and  so,  in  searching  for  an  explanation  of  the  connec- 
tion between  length  of  service  and  quality  of  service  it  may  be 
suggestive  and  valuable  here  to  compare  the  facts  already 
tabulated  in  regard  to  nativity  with  the  facts  in  regard  to 
ordinary  and  extraordinary  service,  to  see  if  any  indication 
may  be  forthcoming  as  to  the  locality  which  furnishes  the 
best  quality  of  colored  domestic  service,  whether  Philadelphia 
and  Pennsylvania  or  the  South.  Such  a  comparison  may  cast 
light  on  the  moot  question  whether  Philadelphians  are  more 
likely  to  be  well  served  by  Philadelphia  colored  people  or  by 
Southerners.  In  the  table  given  below,  therefore,  the  per  cent 
of  Philadelphia  colored  people  among  long  service  and  ordinary 
domestics  is  compared  with  the  corresponding  per  cent  of 
Virginia- bom  colored  domestics.  Virginia  has  been  chosen  to 
represent  the  South  because  it  is  the  Southern  State  furnishing 
the  greatest  number  of  domestic  servants  in  the  Seventh  Ward 
and  is  perhaps  the  State  coming  most  sharply  into  competition 
with  the  native  colored  domestics. 

TABLE  XXV. 

Comparing  Quauty  of  Skrvicb  (as  Implibd  in  Length  op  Sbr- 

vicB  Period)  of  Coi^ored  Domestic  Servants 

OF  Virginia  and  Pennsyi^vania. 


Rank-ani>-Pilb  Domestics. 

Long-service  Domestics. 

Birthplace. 

Av.  Service 

Period, 

3  vrs.  6  mos. 

(Women.) 

Av.  Service 
Period, 

4  yrs.  6  mos. 
(Men  ) 

Av.  Service 

Period. 

6  vrs.  8  mos. 

(Women.) 

Av.  Service 
Period, 

II  yrs,  5  mo«. 
(Men.) 

Philadelphia    .    .    . 
Pennsylvania  .    .    . 
Virginia 

34-8 

34-2 

27.1 

28.3 

Proportion  between 
Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia    .... 
(Approximately. ) 

« 

i{ 

1? 

H 

Length  and  Quality  of  Negro  Domestic  Service,    483 

The  proportions  of  Pennsylvania  and  of  Virginia  service  here 
shown,  are  approximately  represented  by  the  fractions  ^.  ^. 
^  and  ^.  where  the  numerator  in  each  case  stands  for  Phila- 
delphia servants  employed  in  the  Seventh  Ward,  and  the 
denominator  stands  for  Virginia  servants  there  employed. 
When  these  fractions  are  reduced  to  the  same  scale  they  become 
«fM»  HfM,  *HM  and  iif^.  Here,  as  will  be  seen,  the 
first  and  smallest  fraction  stands  for  the  shortest  service  period 
(three  years  and  six  months);  the  second  fraction  for  the  next 
longer  service  period,  and  so  on.  The  values  of  these  fractions 
will  be  seen  to  increase  progressively,  excepting  the  last,  so 
that  the  greater  values  correspond  with  the  longer  service 
periods.  The  values  of  these  fractions  then,  when  taken  in 
connection  with  the  increasing  service  periods,  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  the  greater  the  proportion  of  Philadelphia  domes- 
tics as  compared  with  the  proportion  of  Virginia  domestics,  the 
more  valuable  is  the  service ;  that  is  to  say  that  Philadelphia- 
bom  colored  people  appear  to  render  the  more  efficient  service. 
It  should  be  said  that  the  fourth  fraction  in  the  above  compar- 
ison, to  be  consistent  with  the  theory  oflFered,  should  be  larger 
than  the  third,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  fourth  frac- 
tion is  based  upon  only  seventy-one  records  and  is  therefore 
less  likely  to  represent  the  facts  accurately  than  the  others 
which  are  based  on  a  much  greater  number  of  records. 

Such  indications  as  the  above,  approach  nearer  to  accurate 
treatment  of  the  question  of  quality  of  service  rendered  than  it 
is  possible  to  get  through  quoting  opinions  of  employers.  The 
subject  is  hard  to  treat  at  all  adequately  for  the  reason  that  all 
statements  of  degrees  of  excellence  or  of  incompetency  must  be 
based  on  the  shifting  sands  of  opinion  and  upon  the  opinions 
of  many  different  people,  having  different  traditions,  different 
education  and  home  influences,  different  degrees  of  insight  and 
different  standards  of  excellence.  Statements  so  conditioned 
must  necessarily  be  relative  and  impossible  to  reckon  up  and 
number  with  any  semblance  of  statistical  precision.  Still  the 
opinions  of  the  employers  of  colored  domestics  in  the  Seventh 
Ward  of  Philadelphia,  a  large  proportion  of  whom  have  em- 
ployed both  white  and  colored  help,  should  have  a  certain 
interest  and  value,  even  though  they  are  not  reducible  to 
figures. 


r 


484       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 

Fifty-five  employers '"  in  the  Seventh  Ward  stated  their  views 
in  regard  to  the  qualities  of  Negro  domestics  and  many  varj-ing 
opinions,  both  favorable  and  unfavorable,  were  expressed. 
The  balance  of  testimony  from  these  fifty-five  employers,  how- 
ever, seems  to  be  largely  in  favor  of  the  colored  people  rather 
than  whites,  both  in  regard  to  the  service  offered  and  in  the 
attitude  of  the  employee  toward  the  employer.  Only  one 
employer  stated  that  she  preferred  white  to  colored  ;  she  was 
employing  colored  help  at  that  time  only  because  she  had  not 
been  able  to  secure  satisfactory  white  girls.  Twenty  employers 
say  that  they  find  colored  domestics  quite  as  neat  as  whites, 
while  two  find  them  not  as  neat  and  five  find  them  more  so ; 
"much  cleaner  than  the  Irish  both  in  their  work  and  in  their 
persons;  "they  keep  their  kitchen  and  their  own  room  cleaner." 
Ten  employers  think  they  stay  for  as  long  or  longer  a 
service  period,  while  seven  think  they  do  not  stay  as  long  as 
the  whites.  Fourteen  employers  think  they  render  as  good 
service  as  whites,  and  eleven  think  their  service  better,  or  "a 
great  deal  better;"  while  one — although  employing  three  col- 
ored servants — thinks  the  whites  do  better  work  and  says  she 
has  colored  servants  "because  they  look  more  like  ser\'ants." 
She  also  thinks  they  drink  more  than  the  whites,  an  opinion 
which,  so  far  as  the  present  investigator  can  learn,  she  is 
unique  in  holding,  since  all  the  other  employers  who  discussed 
the  point  held  the  opposite  view. 

One  gentleman,  the  business  manager  of  one  of  the  large 
first-class  apartment  hotels  which  employs  thirty  dining  room 
men,  names  their  freedom  from  intemperance  as  one  of  the 
chief  rea.sons  why  he  "decidedly  prefers  colored  help."  "They 
give  more  attention  to  their  work,"  he  says,  "are  better  waiters 
and  they  drink  less.  They  can  be  counted  upon  on  pay  day 
the  same  as  any  other  day,  while  white  serving  men  are  likely 
to  go  and  drink  up  their  pay  and  be  useless  for  the  rest  of  the 
day."  The  business  manager  of  the  Continental  says  the 
same  thing,  as  do  also  all  the  hotels  which  employ  colored 
service. 

A  very  tew  employers  think  colored  domestics  "are  lazy  and 
neglect  their  work,"  while  more  than  four  times  as  many  say 


"  Most  of  whom  have  employed  botli  white  and  Negro  domestics. 


Length  and  Quality  of  Negro  Domestic  Service.    485 

that  they  are  **  industrious"  and  **  good  workers,"  **  splendid 
workers,"  **  a  great  deal  better  workers  and  decidedly  better 
cooks  than  the  whites."  One  employer  says  on  this  point: 
''No,  I  have  not  found  them  lazy,  at  least  no  more  so  than 
others ;  there  are  good  ones  and  bad  ones  among  both  white 
and  colored."  Skill  in  cooking  was  mentioned  by  only  six 
employers,  all  of  whom  think  colored  cooks  superior  to  other 
servants  in  this  respect. 

Further  judgments  are:  **  They  are  excellent  servants  and 
have  an  intuitive  knowledge  of  what  you  want;  "  **  they  do 
all  the  things  white  servants  wait  to  be  told  to  do."  Several 
employers  agree  on  these  points,  but  one  says:  **  They  have 
to  be  told  to  do  everything,  but  if  you  keep  after  them,  you 
can  get  the  things  done."  The  testimonial  of  one  cook  upon 
the  virtues  of  "  her  madam  "  will  show  this  matter  from  the 
domestic  point  of  view.  This  cook  says,  "My  madam  gives 
me  the  key,  and  she  never  comes  down  to  see  if  I'm  here  in 
the  morning;  she  knows  I'll  be  here;  and  she  never  comes  into 
the  kitchen  to  see  if  meals  are  getting  along,  because  she 
knows  when  half- past  six  o'clock  comes  she  can  trust  her 
girls  to  have  it  ready  right  then."  One  mistress  said:  **  Trust 
them,  and  I  have  found  they  always  prove  themselves  worthy 
of  trust."  Eighteen  employers  concur  in  the  view  that  they 
are  trustworthy  and  do  not  disappoint  confidence;  while  three 
think  them  unreliable  and  untrustworthy,  as  compared  with 
white  servants.  On  this  subject  one  employer  on  Spruce  street 
said:  "  I  think  the  colored  people  are  much  maligned  in  regard 
to  honesty,  cleanliness  and  trustworthiness;  my  experience  of 
them  is  that  they  are  immaculate  in  every  way,  and  they  are 
perfectly  honest;  indeed,  I  can't  say  enough  that  is  good  about 
them."  These  sentiments  were  held  by  several  other  employ- 
ers, one  on  Broad  street  using  almost  the  same  words:  "I 
think  the  colored  people  are  very  much  maligned  in  this  mat- 
ter of  honesty  and  trustworthiness;  I  have  two  colored  men 
now  who  are  as  honest  as  the  sun,  and  my  cook,  who  also  does 
all  the  marketing,  is  very  industrious  and  careful, — painstak- 
ing.    She  is  a  good,  faithful  creature,  and  very  grateful." 

In  regard  to  the  question  of  the  pilfering  of  food  left  from 
the  table,  the  concensus  of  opinion  is  heavily  against  the 
colored  people.    There  are  only  three  employers  who  have 


485       Special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 

auything  to  say  in  defence  of  tbem  in  this  particular,  and  six 
against.  Their  defenders  say;  "  After  ten  years  of  experience 
with  the  colored  people,  I  have  never  had  a  colored  servant 
take  anything,  even  food;"  the  next;  "We  lost  more  food, 
etc.,  from  the  treating  in  the  kitchen,  which  the  Irish  indulge 
in,  than  we  have  ever  missed  from  pilfering  of  colored  ser- 
vants," and  a  third,  who  employs  both  white  and  colored  ser- 
vants, says:  "I  know  it  is  frequently  said  that  the  colored 
people  take  food  home  from  the  kitchen,  but  I  have  not  found 
it  so,"  On  the  other  hand  it  is  said:  "They  are  good  ser- 
vants, but  they  will  carry  things  off; "  while  another  says  that 
they  "take  food;  they  don't  mean  to  be  dishonest,  but  they 
don't  consider  that  stealing,  and  are  perfectly  honest  about 
money."  Another  employer  says:  "Unquestionably  they 
are  light-fiugered  about  food  and  sweetmeats;  slavery  has 
always  clothed  and  fed  them  and  taught  them  to  help  them- 
selves; we  think  slavery  is  responsible  for  it."  Another 
thinks  "  they  are  like  children  in  temptation;  they  can't  resist 
sweetmeats,  but  never  take  things  of  value,"  The  other  two 
employers  who  spoke  on  this  point  say  practically  the  same 
thing;  "They  are  honest;  they  take  things  to  eat  home,  but 
they  don't  count  that;  we  never  lose  anything  valuable."  The 
other  calls  them  "  thieves,"  but  evidently  means  pilferers  of 
food. 

In  regard  to  their  honesty,  the  balance  is  as  strongly  with 
them  as,  in  this  question  of  purloining  food,  it  is  against  them. 
Eighteen  employers  say  they  are  honest,  and  not  one  states  the 
opposite.  Two  of  these  find  them  "  more  honest  than  while 
servants,"  and  two  others,  already  quoted,  say  they  are  "per- 
fectly honest,"  "as  honest  as  the  sun."  Many  remarks  made 
by  domestics  themselves,  in  the  course  of  conversation,  might 
be  quoted  as  casting  light  on  the  subject,  but  only  two  will  be 
given  here.  One  elderly  colored  man,  who  had  been  a  school 
janitor  ia  the  west  end  of  the  ward  for  two  years,  and  was 
nearly  nine  years  in  his  former  place,  said:  "  Some  people  say 
if  you  put  your  hand  in  a  man's  pocket,  you're  stealing;  they 
think  that's  the  only  way;  but  if  you  loaf  two  or  three  hours 
every  day  when  your  boss  is  paying  you  for  working,  I  say 
you're  stealing  just  the  same — stealing  his  time;  I  say  we  only 
live  one  day  at  a  time,  and  that  one  day  we've  got  to  do  the 


Length  and  Quality  of  Negro  Domestic  Service.    487 

same  as  if  we'd  just  come  to  that  place.  In  summer  places 
I've  seen  them  so  triflin* — fooling  away  their  time,  and  merely 
because  the  proprietor  don't  see  them."  The  same  spirit  was 
shown  by  a  woman  cook  on  Broad  street,  who  took  pleasure 
in  doing  good  work  always  for  "her  lady,"  whose  kindness 
she  enlarged  upon  with  a  warmth  that  showed  a  strong  affec- 
tion. This  woman  said:  "  When  my  time  comes  to  go  home 
from  here,  it  will  be  a  pleasant  thought  that  I  have  done  all  I 
can  to  help  my  kind  employer."  These  two  cases  imply  not 
only  honesty  in  the  overt  act,  but  an  entire  honesty  of  pur- 
pose.    Many  similar  cases  might  be  cited. 

The  question  of  the  general  bearing  and  manners  of  colored 
domestics  was  discussed  by  many  of  their  employers.  The 
general  opinion  of  the  employers  is  that  they  are  **  more  will- 
ing and  obliging"  than  white  servants.  As  one  employer 
says:  "The  Germans  drink  and  the  Irish  order  you  out  of 
the  house,  but  the  colored  people  are  more  respectful  and 
anxious  to  please."  "They  are  more  agreeable  and  obliging 
and  have  nicer  manners,"  says  another  employer,  and  adds: 
"  When  my  sister  was  ill,  the  Irish  maid  I  had  at  the  time 
refused  to  carry  up  the  breakfast  tray,  *  because,*  she  said,  *  it 
was  not  her  business  to  do  nursing,'  and  she  '  wouldn't  do  it 
for  ten  dollars.' "  So  the  employer  herself  prepared  and 
carried  up  the  trays  until  the  colored  girl,  who  came  soon 
after,  volunteered  her  services  with:   "Let  me  take  up  the 

breakfast  tray,  Mrs.  W .    You  look  ready  to  drop,"  and 

since  she  came,  Mrs.  W has  never  had  a  white  girl  in  the 

house.  That  the  colored  people  are  more  willing  and  obliging 
in  manner  is  attested  by  twenty  employers  and  denied  by  no 
one,  while  one  employer,  who  is  connected  with  the  University, 
and  has  had  years  of  experience,  both  with  white  and  colored 
servants,  says  of  the  colored  people:  "  Whether  they  are  better 
or  worse  than  the  whites  may  depend  upon  what  whites  you 
have.  We  had  white  servants  for  seven  winters,  and  always  em- 
ployed the  best  Irish  servants  we  could  get;  but  they  were  so 
unsatisfactory  that  we  gave  them  up  and  tried  colored  servants. 
Our  experience  of  them  is  that  they  are  infinitely  cleaner  than 
the  white  Irish,  both  in  their  work  and  personally;  they  are 
more  self-respecting  and  better  mannered — more  agreeable  in 
manners;  indeed,  I  have  found  them  capable  of  the  very  highest 


r 


4S8       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 

cultivation  of  manner.  One  of  our  men  has  the  education  of 
a  gentleman  and  is  improving  himself  constantly;  the  other  is 
ignorant,  but  is  exceedingly  refined  and  modest  in  manner. 
Of  course  they  have  faults;  they  are  fickle,  changing  from 
place  to  place,  even  when  they  are  fond  of  their  employers,  and 
they  have  quick  tempers,  but  they  are  truthful  and  honest;  we 
have  never  lost  a  thing  by  them.  We  keep  them  by  preler- 
ence,  and  shall  continue  to  do  so." 

Several  employers  agree  in  regard  to  this  instinct  of  the 
colored  people  for  good  manners.  One  who  constantly  em- 
ploys nine  servants,  and  in  the  last  twenty-five  or  thirty  years 
has  had  only  one  set  of  white  servants  says:  "  There  is  much 
more  to  Ihem  than  people  think;  our  first  man  servant  has  as 
many  of  the  instincts  of  a  gentleman,  as  anyone  I  ever  saw." 
This  is  high  praise.  "  They  have  a  native,  deep-seated  refine- 
ment and  very  lovely  manners,"  says  another  who  has  em- 
ployed them  for  fifteen  years. 

A  judgment  which  was  frequently  encountered  and  always 
among  those  employers  who  had  had  experience  of  both 
white  and  colored  servants  was,  that  colored  servants  are  "just 
like  other  people  of  their  own  class."  One  employer  says  on 
this  point:  "I  don't  find  a  bit  of  difference;  some  are  very  neat 
and  some  are  very  untidy;  it  depends  entirely  on  the  girl." 
Another  says:  "There  are  good  ones  and  poor  ones  among 
both;  it  varies  with  the  individual,  not  with  the  race." 
Another,  in  charge  of  a  large  institution,  employing  many 
servants  of  whom  half  are  white  and  half  colored,  says:  "  My 
experience  has  been  very  satisfactory  with  the  colored  ;  they 
are  less  impertinent,  but  in  most  respects  are  much  like  white 
people  of  their  own  class.  One  is  about  as  faithful  as  the  other, 
and  in  the  matter  of  neatness  they  are  just  like  other  people  ; 
it  is  six  of  one  and  half  a  dozen  of  the  other,'  As  to  trust- 
worthiness I  have  found  certain  ones  are  perfectly  reliable — 
just  as  with  other  human  beings."  Those  who  are  interested 
in  this  subject  will  doubtless  see  that,  although  these  opinions 
of  employers  have  no  statistical  value,  they  will  have  a  prac- 
tical value  for  many  readers,  and  especially  if  they  open  the 
eyes  of  the  Philadelphia  public,  or  even  a  small  part  of  it,  to 
the  hitherto  apparently  unsuspected  fact  that  there  are  grades 
among  colored  people,  just  as  there  are  among  white  people; 


Length  and  Quality  of  Negro  Domestic  Service.    489 

and  among  colored  servants  as  among  white  servants;  that 
they  are  ''just  like  other  human  beings;"  some  of  them 
trustworthy,  and  others  not;  some  of  them  **  perfectly  reli- 
able," and  others  the  opposite  of  what  that  phrase  expresses, 
exactly  as  with  white  people  of  their  own  class.  To  class 
the  whole  race  together,  or  to  class  all  colored  domestics  to- 
gether, is  to  make  a  serious  mistake. 


VIII. 


CONJUGAI,  CONDITION,   lUITBRACY  AND    HBALTH   OP  NEGRO 

DOICBSTICS. 

Conjugal  Condition. — ^The  following  table  gives  the  facts  in 
the  matter  of  conjugal  condition  of  colored  domestics  in  the 
Seventh  Ward  of  Philadelphia,  by  sex  and  age  periods.  It  is 
based  upon  2289  records  (see  page  491): 

Comparing  the  conjugal  condition  of  Negro  domestics  with 
that  of  all  domestics,  we  have: 


TABLE  XXVI. 

CoNjuGAi.  Condition  in  Ax,h  American  Dombstic  Service  Com- 
pared WITH  CoNjuGAi,  Condition  Among  Coi^red 
Domestic  Servants  in  Philadbi^phia. 


Conjunl  Condition. 

( All  American 
Domestic  Servants.) 

Male. 

PRMALB. 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent- 

Single 

Married 

Widowed 

46.18 
49.96 

3-59 
.27 

69.8s 
12.84 
16.32 

.99 

Divorced 

100.  00 

100.00 

Conjugal  Condition. 

(Colored  Domestic 

Servants  in  Philadelphia. ) 

Male. 

Pbicalb. 

Per  Cent. 

Per  Cent. 

Single 

44.6 

51.0 

2.8 

.7 

•9 

lOO.OO 

475 

33.1 

17.4 

1-9 
.1 

Married 

Widowed 

Divorced 

Unknovm 

100.00 

(490) 


Conjugal  Condition^  Illiteracy  and  Health.       49X 


■2 


u 


S 


^1 


s 

o 

o 

»:; 

o 

g 


o 
u 

I 


o 
a 


• 

1 

>^ 

^ 

>^ 

^ 

t% 

S8 

n 

NO   C 

28 

M 

^4 

SO 

M 

1,1 

j^ 

^ 

• 

0  0 

«?oo 

2« 

00    M 

o"«« 

•0 

l^'i 

• 

•0 

^•ff 

a 

1 

Di 
Widowed. 

Se 

OS 

0  0 

NO 

"St 

10 

<8 

CI 

•8 

^^ 

M^ 

«^ 

^^ 

fO 

1 

00   M 

«oo 

s  10 

10 

10 

i 

a 

5"* 

10 

CI 

^ 

• 

^^ 

^^ 

^^ 

««. 

c>> 

1 

^8 

^8 

^*8 

§8 

o\ 

vO 

1  1 

>^ 

>^ 

Unknown 

Conj.Cond. 

6 

■ 

s 

Divor 

or 

Separa 

0  0 

• 

0    0 

«  CO 

• 

M 

j 

0  0 

VONO 

2q 

0 

S 

d 

ro 

00 

^ 

•8 

^ 

>R 

>^ 

t^S 

2g. 

n 

-5 

mvO 

M 

s 

• 

^ 

«^ 

^ 

>R 

a 

VOOO 

10 

>2^ 

M 

<1 

I 

• 

0 

• 
• 

• 

• 
• 

• 
• 

1 

• 

■ 

• 

• 

•9 

• 

• 

• 

d 
0 

e 

Q 

Q 

1 

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8 

8 

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>> 

^ 

3 

B 

5 

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s 

< 

M 

M 

CI 

M 

M 

492       Special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 

This  comparison  of  the  conjugal  condition  of  white  and  of 
colored  domestics  may  advantageously  be  reduced  to  graphic 
form  for  clearness.  The  first  of  these  diagrams  presents  the 
facts  of  conjugal  condition  among  American  domestics  ser- 
vants of  all  nationalities,  as  recorded  in  the  eleventh  census, 
while  the  second  presents  the  same  facts  relating  to  colored 
domestic  servants  in  Philadelphia. 


CONJUGAI,  CONDmoN  IN  An  Ambkican  Dombstic  Sekvici 
(Figures  of  Eleventh  Census,) 


MUX 
rCMAlC 


Conjugal  CoNomoN  in  Colored  DowESTtc  Sbrvicb  in  PHii.ADBi.pmA. 


A  study  of  census  statistics  in  connection  with  the  results  of 
this  investigation,  seems  to  show  a  remarkably  close  parallel 
between  the  conjugal  statistics  of  men  servants,  white  and 
colored.  The  disproportionate  number  of  single  white  women 
is  accounted  for  by  the  great  number  of  unmarried  foreign 
bom  white  women  in  American  domestic  service.  This  study 
of  the  conjugal  condition  of  domestic  servants  seems  to  corrob- 
orate the  opinion  of  those  employers  who  found  colored  people 
"  very  much  like  other  human  beings." 

Illiteracy. — The  following  table  of  illiteracy  is  based  apon 
576  reports: 


Conjugal  Condition^  Illiteracy  and  Health.        493 


TABLE  XXVIII. 

IifUTBRACY  Among  Domestic  Servants,  Negrobs,  of  the  Seventh 

Ward,  Phii*adei*phia. 


Illiterate, 

Cannot  read  or  write 

Cannot  write 

Literate 

Able  to  read  and  write 

Having  a  trade 

Having  a  trade  and  some  higher 

school  training 

Having  higher  school  training 

Total 


Male. 

Female. 

Tot 

No. 

10 
5 

60 

44 

7o\ 
49/ 

109 
7 

267 
II 

376 
18 

3 
22 

7 
31 

10 
53 

156 

420 

576 

Per  Cent. 


20.7 

65.3 
3.1 

1.7 
^9.2 

100.  o 


This  table  shows  9.6  per  cent  of  the  men  and  24.8  per  cent 
of  the  women  in  domestic  service  to  be  illiterate  in  some  degree, 
with  a  total  percentage  of  20.7  illiterate,  either  wholly  or  in 
part,  while  80  per  cent  of  the  colored  men  and  women  in  domestic 
service  have  at  least  a  common  school  education.  Fourteen 
per  cent  of  the  total  count  will  be  seen  to  have  had  some  train- 
ing above  that  of  the  common  schools,  or  to  have  attended  an 
industrial  school. 

The  illiteracy  of  Negro  servants  is  about  2  per  cent  greater 
than  that  of  the  total  Negro  population  of  the  Seventh  Ward. 
This  is  doubtless  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  70  per  cent 
of  colored  domestic  servants  are  women,  and  the  illiteracy  of  col- 
ored women  is  uniformly  greater  than  that  of  colored  men. 
This  will  be  seen  by  glancing  at  the  per  cents  of  illiteracy  for 
colored  men  and  women  servants,  9.6  per  cent  as  opposed  to 
24.8  per  cent,  and  in  the  total  population  14.2  per  cent  as  opposed 
to  24.1  percent.  In  the  whole  population  the  sexes  are  about 
evenly  balanced  in  numbers,  hence  in  the  general  average  for 
the  illiteracy  of  the  whole  population,  the  rates  for  each  sex 
would  bear  an  equal  part  in  the  general  result.  A  comparison 
of  these  averages  shows  that  the  men  in  domestic  service  are 
somewhat  less  illiterate  than  the  men  in  the  whole  popula- 
tion, while  the  women  in  domestic  service  appear  to  be  slightly 
behind  the  women  of  the  whole  population. 


494      Special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 

The  question  will  arise  as  to  the  relative  illiteracy  of  Negro 
domestics  and  of  other  domestics  the  country  over.  It  is  inter- 
>esting  to  make  the  comparison.  The  census  of  1890  gives  the 
percentage  of  male  illiterates  in  domestic  and  personal  service 
as  18.9.  This  is  the  rate  for  all  men  servants  in  America,  ten 
years  old  and  over  and  includes  all  nationalties,  the  native 
^whites,  foreign-bom  whites  and  colored.  It  is  less  creditable 
than  the  record  of  the  Philadelphia  colored  population  by 
nearly  five  points,  the  record  for  Philadelphia's  male  Neg^roes 
ten  years  old  and  over  being  but  14.2  per  cent.  And  it  is 
only  about  half  as  creditable  as  the  record  of  colored  domestic 
men-servants,  their  per  cent  of  illiteracy  amounting  to  only 
9.6.  (The  margin  of  error  in  the  last  is  probably  large,  how- 
ever, since  it  is  computed  upon  but  156  cases.)  The  census 
shows  for  female  domestic  service  the  country  over,  including 
both  native  and  foreign  white,  and  colored  women  over  ten 
years  of  age,  a  per  cent  of  illiteracy  amounting  to  24.75. 
Among  colored  women  servants  in  Philadelphia  24.80  are 
iound  to  be  illiterate.  The  whole  colored  population  of  Phila- 
delphia improves  slightly  upon  this,  showing  for  its  women 
and  girls  24.  i  per  cent  of  illiteracy. 

ILUTSRACV  OP  Colored  Domestics  (Philadelphia)  and  op  all 
American  Domestics,  Compared  by  Sex. 


MALE 


/< 


COUNTED  OOMCSTKS 

(phila) 

ILUTERACyl  A^*-  AMERICAN 
iujiuiHi.il  DOMIfTICS 

(ttTH-CINMISOr 


i( 


rcuiir  fCOLORCD  OOMDTKS 
f™*»^J       (PMILA) 

ILUTEBACY)  auaiurican 

I .  OOMCSTIC^ 

y6iTH.ceNsu9or 


This  comparison  seems  to  indicate  that  the  grade  of  intelli- 
gence of  women  servants,  white  and  colored,  is  practically  the 
same,  while  the  colored  men  servants  are  of  a  higher  grade  of 
intelligence  than  are  white  men  servants.  The  investigator  is 
inclined  to  think  that  the  average  of  illiteracy  for  colored  men 


Conjugal  Condition^  Illiteracy  and  Health.       495 

servants,  though  computed  on  so  few  records,  fairly  represents 
the  real  conditions.  It  is  not  difficult  to  account  for  the  great 
difference  in  records  of  colored  and  of  white  men  servants  when 
one  remembers  the  fact  so  often  referred  to,  of  the  crowding 
out  of  competent  and  educated  colored  men,  who  have  been 
clerks,  teachers  and  skilled  workmen,  and  who  at  one  time  or 
another,  have  found  themselves  in  a  position  where  they  were 
obliged  to  take  domestic  service  or  nothing.  Large  numbers 
of  such  men  in  the  ranks  of  domestic  service  would  bring  down 
the  percentage  of  illiteracy  very  decidedly.  That  it  should 
reach  the  point  of  9.6  per  cent  is  very  creditable  to  the  colored 
men  servants  if  the  figures  are  correct,  since  the  per  cent  of 
illiteracy  for  native  white  males  is  not  quite  four  points  ahead 
of  it,  being  given  by  the  census  as  5.83  per  cent. 

Health  Statistics  for  Domestic  Servants. — The  questions 
**  Number  of  days  sick  in  last  twelve  months?"  **  Nature  of 
illness  ?* '  were  answered  by  547  domestic  servants.  The  tabula- 
tion of  their  reports  follows: 


TABLE    XXIX. 

{Domestic  Service,) 

Sickness  and  Heai.th  During  Last  Twbi^ve  Months,  by  Skx. 


Health 
Record. 

Male. 

Pbmalb. 

TOTAI^ 

No. 

Per  Cent. 

No. 

Per  Cent. 

No. 

Percent 

Not   sick  at 

all  during 
last  twelve 

months    . 
Ill  one  week 

121 

79.6 

293 

74.2 

414 

75.7 

or  less  .   . 
Ill  more  than 

7 

4.6 

33 

8.4 

40 

7.3 

one  week 

24 

IS.8 

69 

17.4 

93 
547 

17.0 

Total    .   . 

152 

100. 

395 

100. 

loa 

Prom  this  table  it  is  seen  that  80  per  cent  of  the  men  have 
not  been  ill  at  all  during  the  year;  while  among  the  women  74 
per  cent  have  been  exempt  from  illness.  It  is  noteworthy  that 
the  slightest  illness  appears  to  have  been  conscientiously 
reported  upon,  since  very  nearly  one-third  of  the  men  reporting 


496       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service, 

illness  were  cases  of  colds  or  other  such  slight  troubles  as  kept 
them  ill  only  a  day  or  two;  while  rather  more  than  one* third 
of  the  women  also  scrupulously  reported  such  insignificant 
illnesses.  In  this  paper,  however,  the  example  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Labor  has  been  followed  and  "  colds ''  have  not  been 
counted  at  all.  Wherever,  therefore,  an  illness  of  one  or  two 
days  is  reported,  it  is  of  more  serious  nature  than  a  mere  cold. 

Of  the  547  persons  reporting,  3.  i  per  cent  report  serious  ill- 
ness of  which  2.6  per  cent  belongs  to  the  women  and  the  remain- 
ing .5  per  cent  to  the  men. 

The  most  prevalent  troubles  are  consumption,  la  grippe, 
quinsy,  sore  throat,  rheumatism,  neuralgia,  chills  and  fever,  or 
dyspepsia  and  'inflammation,"  which  latter  term  appears  to 
be  a  general  name  for  all  discomforts  of  the  inner  domestic 
from  indigestion  to  peritonitis  and  sudden  death. 

Of  those  reporting  illness  seven  of  the  thirty-one  men  will  be 
seen  to  have  been  ill  one  week  or  less  ;  while  thirty-three  of  the 
102  women  were  ill  one  week  or  less.  One  maid  reports  a 
severe  attack  of  la  grippe  but  she  "  worked  all  the  same"  losing 
not  one  day  of  work  in  the  year.  And  Table  VII  will  show 
that  this  is  no  uncommon  fact  but  that  several  of  those  report- 
ing illness  lose  no  time  from  work.  While  the  women's  sick 
list  shows  thirty-three  ill  one  week  or  less,  it  shows  sixty-nine 
who  have  had  longer  periods  of  illness.  Among  the  longest 
periods  reported  are  the  following  :  **Out  of  work  for  three 
months  on  account  of  trouble  with  the  eyes,  an  operation  for 
cataract;"  another,  out  three  or  four  months  on  account  of 
weak  lungs,  says  :  *  *  I  never  can  work  more  than  a  few  weeks 
to  a  time;  "  another,  laid  up  three  months  with  a  sprained 
ankle;  another,  *'sick  from  March  to  Christmas  with  rheu- 
matism ;  "  another,  **four  months  sick  with  rheumatism,  but 
worked;"  another,  five  months  sick  with  nervous  shock 
caused  by  sudden  death  of  her  husband  in  an  accident ;  one 
man  has  chills  and  fever  from  time  to  time  all  the  year 
round;  another,  **had  rheumatism  all  winter  but  lost  no 
working  time."  A  comparison  of  the  length  of  illness  tabu- 
lated below  will  show  that  the  records  just  quoted  are  unusual. 
Table  XXIX  gives  the  complete  record  of  those  who  report 
illness  within  the  past  twelve  months. 


Conjugal  Condition^  Illiteracy  and  Health.       497 


TABLE  XXX. 

(Domestic  Strvice,) 

Parsons  Sick  or  Injurkd,  by  Sbx,  by  Kind  of  AzZiicmiT  or  Injxtry 

AND  BY  LBNGTH  OF  Il^U^BSS. 


Malb. 

Fbbcalb. 

Kind  of 
Ailment,  etc. 

No. 
I 

• 

I 
I 

• 

z 

I 

Period  of  Illness. 

No. 

Period  of  Illness. 

Dajrs. 

Weeks. 

Mos. 

Dajrs. 

Weeks. 

Mos. 

Abscess 

Accident  (to  hand)  . 

K 

Asthnui 

Biliousness    .... 
Chills  and  fever  .  . 
ConsnniDtion    .   . 

• 
• 

• 

3  or  4 

t 

8 

. 
2 

I 

I 

• 

2 

• 
• 

3 

. 
.   •   • 

• 

2 

• 
• 

3 

• 

2 

•      •      * 

• 

• 
• 

3 

• 
• 

3>i 

3 

3 

<c 

c< 

Cramps  ...... 

I 
10 

TjvsDeDaia  •  ■   •   ■   • 

<ii  "^^^ 

'<      and  kidney 
trouble . 
Erysipelas     .... 
Igyes,  inflammation 
"       operation  for 

I 

T  * 

•      •      • 

•           mm. 

... 

2 

•            • 

3 

Pelon 

... 
4 

•  •      • 

6 

•  •      • 

•  •      • 

6 

*   •   . 
6 

•      •       • 

3 

I 

Headache 

Iniurv  to  back  .  •  ■ 

I 

2 

Internal  ailment 

«                            <« 

I 
4 

5 

2 

2 

Lagrippe 

I 
2 

•  •      • 

•  •       • 

•  •      • 

•  •      • 

tt 

c< 

3 

4 

5 
8 

II 

<c 

CI 

l< 

Malarial  fever  .   .   . 

I 

3 

•      •      • 

Neuralgia 

z 

•      •      • 

2 

•Broken  leg. 

t  Intermittent  ('*  loses  no  time'*). 

X  *•  Pew  days.*' 

{Unknown  ("worked  all  time"). 

I  Unknown. 

^  Result  of  heaTjr  lifting. 

«*  Hemorrhage. 

tt  Unknown  ( '  *  worked  all  time.") 

32 


498      special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Seruice. 

TABLE  IKSS..— Continued, 


Kind  of 
Ailment,  etc. 


Neuralgia 


<« 


Neuritis . 
(h>eration  ( 
Pleurisy 
Quinsj 


It 


•urgicalj, 


RhcuTnatiitii 


It 

(C 

l< 
•  f 
l< 


Shock  (nervous)  . 
Sprained  ankle 
Stomach"  inflamma 
tion**  of 


K 
<i 

It 
<  i 
i( 


Tape-worm  removed 
Typhoid  fever 


Unknown 


ii 
i< 
II 
ti 
II 
II 
II 
II 
II 
1 1 


Total 


No. 


I 
z 


I 
I 
I 
I 

3 

2 

I 
I 
I 
I 

2 
I 


Period  of  ma* 


Days. 


31 


Weeks. 


I 

2 

5 


10 
15 
^9 


I 

2 
2  or  3 


Na 


Period  of  nineas. 


Dsjrs. 


2 

3 


5 

9 
6 

I 

3 

t 
«/ 

3 
I 


102 


10 

« 

2 
3 


Weeks. 


3 

4 

5 
10 

16 


Mos. 


I 
2 

3 

•   ■ 

7 


2 

3 

4 
2 

z 

9 


4 
3to9 

5 

3 


I 

2 

3 

4 
6 


I 
2 

3 


•  Week  ("  worked  all  time  "). 

t  "  All  winter  but  worked  all  time. 

J  Pew  days. 


Conjugal  Condition^  Illiteracy  and  Health.       499 

This  table  is  found  to  aggregate  415  weeks  of  illness  dtiritig 
the  year,  to  be  distributed  among  547  persons,  giving  an  aver- 
age loss  of  work  time  for  illness  of  about  four-fifths  of  a  week 
per  individual  during  the  year." 

Health  of  colored  domestic  servants  in  the  Seventh  Ward 
during  the  last  twelve  months  is  shown  in  the  diagram  which 
follows: 

Hbalth  Statistics,  for  Last  Twelve  Months,  of  Colored 
DoHssncs  OF  Fhilai>hi.phia. 


D'- 


gtUTONCWUMOiUM  - 


■>  It  tnaj  be  of  interest  to  compare  this  result  with  the  foUowing  table 
taken  from  Professor  Mayo  Smith's  "  Statistics  and  Sodologj,"  which 
table,  the  author  SBiys,  Is  "  based  upon  the  experience  of  the  largest  and 
most  Important  Friendly  Society  in  England,  which  gives  aid  to  members 
when  they  are  ill,  the  Manchester  Unity  of  Odd  Fellow^  comprising 
400,000  members."    The  table  is  as  f<dlows  : 


Age. 


ATCTige  Biekaeu  per  IndiTidnal 


Kale. 

ij-aoyean .666 

ao-as    "  737 

2S-4S    "  995 

45-65    "  a.736 

>5-«5    "  ■  ■    1.314 


751 


Omitting  the  45-65  period,  which  is  not  fairly  comparable  with  the 
ages  of  colored  domestic  servants  (their  average  age  being  30.3),  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  averse  illness  among  the  English  working  people 
is  nearly  the  same  as  that  among  colored  domestics  of  the  same  age. 
The  English  Sick  Benefit  Society  showing  an  aver^ie  of  .799  as  com- 
pared with  .759  for  colored  servants,  th:  slight  difference  being  to  the 
advantage  of  the  colored  serrants. 


IX. 

IDBALS  OP  BBTTERMSNT. 

In  view  of  the  general  purpose  of  this  investigation,  it  is 
proper  to  discuss  in  conclusion  the  question  of  the  improve- 
ment of  Philadelphia  Negro  domestic  service.  In  the  first 
place,  what  remedies  or  improvements  in  domestic  service  have 
already  been  tried  with  any  measure  of  success  ?  The  answer 
to  this  question  should  indicate  the  lines  along  which  progress 
may  be  expected. 

The  only  two  scientific  studies  of  the  subject  up  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  are  those  of  Mr.  Charles  Booth  and  of  Miss  Salmon, 
who  in  1897  published  her  300-paged  book  entitled  **  Domestic 
Service."  Mr.  Booth's  treatment  of  the  subject  is  purely  sta- 
tistical, simply  stating  and  grouping  facts;  it  has  no  theory  of 
betterment  to  offer.  But  Miss  Salmon,  besides  giving  statistics 
of  American  domestic  service,  also  treats  the  question  in  its 
historical  aspects  and  considers  it  philosophically  and  practi- 
cally, with  an  eye  to  its  probable  future  development  and  to 
possible  remedies  for  present  difficulties. 

Hence  the  best,  perhaps  the  only  answer,  to  the  above  ques- 
tion now  to  be  found  in  print  is  that  given  by  Miss  Salmon  in 
the  closing  chapters  of  her  book;  and  a  brief  abstract  of  those 
chapters  is  therefore  given  here,  with  her  permission. 

Before  suggesting  any  plan  of  betterment,  Miss  Salmon  enu- 
merates and  discards  various  *' doubtful  remedies,**  such  as  the 
removal  of  all  difficulties  by  the  application  of  the  golden  rule, 
employing  the  system  of  servicejbooks  in  vogue  in  Germany, 
introducing  domestic  training  in  the  public  schools,  and  other 
methods.  All  these  plans  fail,  says  the  author,  because  they 
assume  that  the  adjustment  to  be  made  is  a  purely  personal 
one,  whereas  larger  relations — political,  economic,  industrial 
and  social — are,  in  point  of  fact  involved;  and  she  believes  that 
reform  in  domestic  service,  if  it  is  to  succeed,  '  *  must  be  accom- 
plished along  the  same  general  economic  lines  as  are  reforms 
in  other  great  departments  of  labor.**  She  shows  that  domestic 
service,  though  apparently  isolated  from  other  departments  of 

(500) 


Ideals  of  Betterment.  501 

the  world's  work,  has  been  powerfully  affected  by  inventions, 
by  political  revolutions  and  social  changes,  by  the  commercial 
development  of  the  country  and  the  introduction  of  the  factory 
system,  which  took  out  of  the  household  once  and  for  all  the 
making  of  men's  garments,  many  kinds  of  woolen  wear,  boots 
and  shoes,  hats,  gloves,  etc.,  together  with  the  preparation  of 
many  kinds  of  food  now  made  chiefly  in  factories,— cheese, 
canned  vegetables,  ice  cream,  etc. 

Having  shown  that  domestic  labor  is  not  isolated  but  forms 
an  integral  and  closely  interwoven  part  of  the  social  fabric,  the 
author  turns  to  consider  possible  remedies  which  can  succeed 
only  as  they  harmonize  with  the  all-pervasive  economic  ten- 
dencies of  modem  times.  Miss  Salmon  first  enumerates  these 
tendencies  and  declares  them  to  be: 

**  I.  The  tendency  toward  concentration  of  capital  and  labor 
in  industry,  shown  in  pools,  trusts,  department  stores,  etc. 

"2.  The  tendency  toward  specialization  in  every  department 
of  labor. 

**  3.  The  tendency  toward  collective  action  growing  from  (i) 
and  (2). 

' '  4.  The  tendency  toward  profit-sharing  and  similar  methods 
constantly  becoming  more  far-reaching. 

**  5.  The  tendency  toward  greater  industrial  independence  of 
women." 

The  first  of  the  remedies  suggested  by  Miss  Salmon  as  run- 
ning in  harmony  with  these  tendencies  is  specialization  of 
household  employments.  This  is  an  important  point  deserving 
of  most  careful  consideration.  It  is  true  that  all  advancement 
yet  made  in  household  employments  has  involved  division  of 
labor  and  unconscious  co-operation;  as  for  instance,  when  spin- 
ning and  weaving  once  done  by  the  women  at  home,  was 
removed  to  the  factory  ;  next,  when  the  sewing  machine  took 
the  making  of  underclothing  largely  out  of  the  home  and  made 
of  it  the  **white  goods"  industry.  Cheese,  a  home  product 
till  i860,  is  now  wholly  factory  made. 

It  is  important  to  notice  that  all  these  articles,  both  of  food 
and  clothing,  though  at  first  more  expensive  when  factory 
made,  are  now  both  better  and  more  cheaply  made  outside  the 
household.  The  presumption  is  that  other  articles  now  in  a 
transition  state  (such  for  example,  as  glass-canned  fruits  and 


502       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Sen/ice, 

preserves,  jellies,  pickles,  bread,  cake,  pastry,  pressed  meats, 
condensed  milk,  butter,  etc.)i  would  soon  be  among  those  things 
made  both  better  and  more  cheaply  out  of  the  house  than  within, 
were  the  demand  for  them  sufficient.  These  things,  if 
purchased  through  women's  exchanges,  are  more  expensive 
only  because  the  *'  demand  for  them  has  thus  far  been  limited/' 
The  author  believes  that  their  cheapening  would  follow  upon 
their  greater  demand,  together  with  improved  quality,  as  has 
been  the  case  with  clothing,  etc.  She  shows  further  that  the 
delivery  of  practically  all  articles  of  food  ready  for  the  final 
application  of  heat  is  possible  through  business  enterprise  and 
scientific  experiment,  and  believes  that  this  would  go  a  long 
way  toward  solving  the  * 'servant  question"  by  taking  most  of 
the  domestics  out  of  the  house  and  thus  lessening  the  strain 
of  personal  relations  of  employer  and  employee.  Employers 
would  welcome  such  a  change.  The  situation  would  be 
improved  for  the  employees  also,  since  many  women  could 
retain  their  homelife  and  at  the  same  time  earn  money 
and  support  their  families.  '^  This  change,  it  is  pointed  out, 
''is  in  direct  line  with  the  tendency  toward  specialization 
everjrwhere  else  found,  in  that  it  enables  each  person  to  do 
exclusively  that  thing  which  she  can  do  best;  it  allows  the 
concentration  of  labor  and  capital  and  thus  economizes  and 
secures  the  largest  results;  it  retains  the  woman's  homelife 
without  sacrificing  her  bread-winning  opportunities;  it 
improves  the  quality  of  products,  thus  made  under  the  most 
favorable  conditions;  it  brings  the  work  of  every  cook 
into  competition  with  the  work  of  every  other  cook  and  thus 
incites  improvement;  it  applies  the  principle  of  unconscious 
co-operation  and  thus  harmonizes  with  other  business  activi- 
ties.'^ 

That  the  laundry  department  also  could  thus  be  taken  outside 
the  household  will  not  be  questioned,  since  Troy  laundries 
already  do  many  articles  better  and  more  cheaply  than  can  be 


**  A  long  list  of  bread-winners  among  women  is  given  (**Domestic 
Service,"  page  219  ^/ 5^^.)  showing  how  women  are  wholly  or  partly 
supporting  their  families  by  preparing  in  their  homes  articles  of  food  for 
sale  in  neighboring  large  cities,  each  woman  usually  making  large 
quantities  of  only  one  or  two  articles,  e.  g.,  Saratoga  potatoes,  sold  in 
large  quantities  to  grocers,  jams  and  pickles,  chicken  salad,  cake,  etc. 


Ideals  of  Betterment.  503 

done  at  home.    Troy  prices  would  lessen  with  increased  demand 
and  competition  among  laundries. 

The  care  of  lawns,  gardens  and  orchards  in  summer,  and  of 
furnaces  in  winter,  also  tends  to  become  a  business  in  itself; 
and  many  cases  are  recorded  of  men  who  care  for  eight  or  ten 
different  furnaces,  or  who  have  charge  of  from  ten  to  fifteen 
lawns  or  gardens,  and  of  women  who  wash  windows  once  a 
week,  for  a  large  number  of  families. 

There  are  many  reasons  why  this  tendency  should  develop. 
It  has  much  in  its  favor,  while  the  only  objection  to  it — that  the 
cost  of  living  would  be  increased — is  not  valid,  since  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  added  expense  would  only  be  temporary,  as  in  the 
case  of  factory-made  garments,  and  would  finally  operate 
decidedly  to  cheapen  living  expenses. 

TTu  second  possible  remedy  suggested  is  profit-sharing,  and  its 
application  to  housework  is  interesting.  ''  It  is  possible,**  says 
Miss  Salmon,  ''to  fix  a  sum,  as  $50  or  $100  for  monthly 
expenses,  including  food,  fuel,  lights,  a  pro-rata  for  guests,  etc. 
If  by  care  in  the  use  of  materials  the  expenses  amount  to  but 
$45  or  $90  monthly,  the  $5  or  $10  saved  can  be  divided  accord- 
ing to  a  proportion  previously  agreed  upon,  between  the  em- 
ployer and  the  employees;  the  cook,  who  is  in  a  position  to  save 
most,  receiving  the  greatest  percentage  of  the  bonus." 

Domestics  thus  become  interested  partners  in  the  concern  and 
with  most  satisfactory  results.  Miss  Salmon  states  that  this  is 
not  untested  theory  but  has  been  successfully  practiced  and 
actually  does  place  the  household  on  a  business  basis. 

A  third  possible  remedy  proposed  is  thorough  education  in 
household  science.  It  is  maintained  that  the  organization  of  a 
great  professional  school  fully  equipped  for  the  study  of 
domestic  science  and  open  only  to  graduates  of  the  leading 
colleges  and  universities,  would  start  household  science  in  the 
right  direction, — that  in  which  advancement  in  all  other  occupa- 
tions has  been  made, — and  thus  make  possible  true  prog^ress  and 
further  harmonious  development  in  this  **  belated  industry."  " 

The  result,  should  these  remedies  be  applied  on  a  large 
scale.  Miss  Salmon  believes  would  be  far  reaching  and  of  inesti- 
mable value.    She  says:  **  This  readjustment  of  work  and  the 


"■So  called  by  Miss  Addams  in  a  recent  address. 


504       special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 

willingness  of  large  numbers  of  women  to  work  for  remuneration 
would  be  as  productive  of  improvement  in  all  household  affairs 
as  division  of  labor  has  been  elsewhere.  A  far-reaching  benefit 
is  suggested  by  Maria  Mitchell  when  she  says: — 'the  dress- 
maker should  no  more  be  a  universal  character  than  the 
carpenter.  Suppose  every  man  should  fed  it  his  duty  to  do  his 
own  mechanical  work  of  all  kinds— would  society  be  bene- 
fited?— would  the  work  be  well  done?  Yet  a  woman  is 
expected  to  know  how  to  do  all  kinds  of  sewing,  all  kinds  of 
cooking,  all  kinds  of||any  ''woman's  work,"  and  the  conse- 
quence is  that  life  is  passed  in  learning  these  only,  while  the 
universe  of  truth  beyond  remains  unentered.'  It  must  be  said 
in  conclusion,"  the  author  continues,  "that  littie  can  be  ac- 
complished in  domestic  reform  except  through  the  use  of  means 
which  already  exist,  developing  these  along  lines  marked  out 
by  industrial  progress  in  other  fields." 

This  brief  extract  gives  the  gist  of  the  best  thought  thus  far 
devoted  to  the  subject.  Now,  we  must  ask  ourselves,  how  can 
all  this  be  applied  to  Negro  domestic  service  in  Philadelphia? 
What  facts  now  existing  in  service  there  can  be  laid  hold  of  and 
developed  along  these  lines  of  progress  observed  in  other  fields 
of  industry  ? 

Most  of  the  facts  of  Negro  domestic  service  which  are  amen- 
able to  such  adaptation  and  development  are  to  be  found  under 
the  head  of  specialization  of  employments.  Considerable  out- 
side service  is  already  being  done  by  colored  people  in  Phila- 
delphia. The  degree  to  which  laundry  work,  for  example,  has 
been  removed  from  the  household  may  be  seen  by  the  fact 
that  there  are  but  thirty-one  private  laundresses  in  the  ward, 
while  1097  colored  women  in  the  ward  support  their  families 
by  taking  in  washing  or  doing  **  day's  work,**  as  they  call 
washing  by  the  day  at  the  employer's  house.  There  is  every 
evidence  that  sending  out  the  washing  instead  of  keeping  a 
laundress  as  one  of  the  regular  domestics  is  more  satisfactory 
both  to  employer  and  employee;  for  the  laundress  would  rather 
do  the  work  at  home,  and  often  must  do  it  there  or  not  at  all, 
when  there  are  young  children  in  her  family,  while  the  em* 
ployer  gains  a  peaceful  Monday  and  Tuesday  by  having  the 
work  done  out,  besides  saving  the  slight  but  constant  expense 
of  coal  aud.washing  supplies.   Aside  from  these  1097  individual 


Ideals  of  Betterment.  505 

laundresses  in  the  ward,  there  are  also  two  regular  laundries 
managed  by  Negro  families,  where  all  the  working  members 
of  the  family  are  busily  employed  for  six  days  in  the  week 
with  the  work  of  a  large  number  of  fiemiilies.  Such  colored 
people  as  these  are  justly  jealous  of  the  work  given  to  China- 
men, while  many  native  Negroes  cannot  get  work  to  do.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  successful  and  excellent  laundries  would  grow 
up  under  the  management  of  Philadelphia  colored  men  and 
women  if  employers  could  be  satisfied  to  *'put  the  washing 
out"  and  to  admit  the  possibility  of  having  clothing  laun- 
dered on  some  other  week  daylthan  that  which  was  usual  in 
the  Plymouth  colony.  The  domestic  economy  of  America 
to-day  is  more  complex  than  was  that  of  the  Plymouth  colony, 
and  we  can  very  easily  make  due  allowance  for  the  fact,  by 
letting  our  laundresses  choose  their  own  "  Monday." 

Another  branch  of  domestic  work  showing  the  specializing 
tendency  is  that  known  as  ''  general  work,"  which  with  men 
servants  usually  denotes  care  of  furnaces,  cleaning  the  front  of 
the  house,  etc.  Nearly  all  of  these  men  do  such  work  for  a  con- 
siderable number  of  families  and  devote  their  entire  time  to  it. 
One  man  was  encountered  who  was  in  charge  of  the  furnaces 
and  ''  outside  work  "  of  not  less  than  eight  different  establish- 
ments. In  this  direction  employers  could  easily  co-operate  to 
effect  further  specialization,  as  only  a  little  over  two  per  cent  of 
Negro  male  wage-earners  are  at  present  general  workers.  It  was 
observed  that  such  men  were  found  almost  exclusively  in  the 
more  fashionable  and  wealthy  quarter,  while  elsewhere  the 
waiter  manservant  undertook  the  outside  work  as  part  of  his 
duty.  The  specializing  tendency  in  this  department  of  Negro 
service  is  much  less  marked  than  in  the  laundry  work.  Still 
progress  in  the  right  direction  is  practicable,  since  the  tendency, 
though  not  greatly  developed,  still  exists. 

A  much  more  significant  fact  in  the  matter  of  specialization 
of  work  is  the  presence  in  the  Seventh  Ward  alone,  of  eighty- 
three  colored  caterers  and  cateresses,  whose  employment  by 
families  who  entertain  to  any  extent  surely  diminishes  the 
need  in  those  families  for  the  services  of  such  large  numbers 
of  domestics  as  would  otherwise  be  employed  by  them.  The 
use  of  such  outside  professional  help  is  clearly  a  development 
in  the  right  direction  and  the  service  thus  secured  is  manifestly 


5o6       Special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 

better,  because  skilled.  It  is  equally  evident  that  it  is  cheaper 
to  employ  a  caterer  periodically  than  to  keep  an  extra  number 
of  trained  domestics  permanently  employed  in  the  household 
for  such  occasions.  Here  again,  then,  specialization  is  found 
actually  at  work  among  the  colored  people  of  Philadelphia. 

A  fourth  instance  of  it  which  is  found  in  the  city  is  worth 
citing.  This  is  a  Woman's  Exchange.  The  preparation  of 
foods,  such  as  fruit  in  glass  jars,  preserves,  jellies,  pickles, 
etc.,  and  the  making  of  simple  garments,  underwear,  aprons, 
shirt  waists,  baby's  caps,  etc.,  are  the  kinds  of  work  spe- 
cialized upon  by  the  "Exchange  for  Women's  Work,"  lo- 
cated -at  756  South  Twelfth  street,  in  connection  with  the 
parsonage  of  Bethel  Church.  This  Exchange  is  outside  the 
Seventh  Ward,  but  is  so  notable  a  case  of  the  tendency  here 
discussed  that  it  seems  well  to  mention  it.  The  articles  offered 
for  sale  are  of  excellent  quality  and  are  sold  at  moderate 
prices.  The  investigator  has  noticed,  in  a  high  grade  pro- 
vision store  on  Chestnut  street,  not  far  from  Rittenhouse 
square,  that  jellies,  jams  and  fruits  are  offered  for  sale  bearing 

conspicuous   sale   cards   marked,    **  Miss   *s    Pickled 

Peaches,"  "Miss *s  Currant  Jelly,"  etc.    This  suggests 

that  there  might  be  an  exchange  for  colored  women's  work  at 
such  provision  stores  and  high  grade  groceries  if  the  proprietors 
could  be  induced  to  co-operate,  as  many  of  them  doubtless 
could  be  by  judicious  and  business-like  suggestions  from  their 
leading  customers  or  from  some  well  known  and  influential 
organization  of  women.  Colored  women  who  have  unusual 
skill  in  the  preparation  of  any  kind  of  foods  might  in  this  way 
be  able  to  place  their  goods  advantageously,  greatly  to  their 
own  benefit  and  also  to  that  of  the  community  of  which  they 
form  often  an  unemployed  part. 

To  sum  up  :  the  facts  of  colored  domestic  service  which  can 
be  laid  hold  of  and  developed  along  the  lines  of  specialization 
of  household  work  then,  are  these  facts  connected  with 
**  Extra  Service  "  :  (i)  Laundry  work  can  be  done  more  con- 
veniently and  as  cheaply  or  more  cheaply  outside  of  the  house 
than  within  it,  and  many  excellent  laundresses  among  the 
married  colored  women  are  anxious  to  get  such  work  to  do. 
(2)  **  Outside  work,"  furnace  work,  etc.,  can  similarly  be  done 
by  men  making  it  their  business,   and  a  man  servant  thus  be 


Ideals  of  Betterment  ,  507 

left  free  for  other  duties  or  dispensed  with  altogether.  (3) 
Patronage  of  caterers  rather  than  the  emplo3rment  of  supernu- 
merary domestics  is  a  step  tending  to  simplify  household  work 
in  large  establishments  and  the  employment  of  competent 
colored  caterers  a  step  tending  to  simplify  the  problem  of 
unemployed  colored  men  in  Philadelphia.  (4)  Anything  tend- 
ing to  extend  the  patronage  of  exchanges  for  women's  work, 
and  by  inducing  competition  in  such  work,  to  cheapen  articles 
so  offered  for  sale,  is  a  step  in  the  direction  of  taking  food 
preparation  outside  the  household,  and  anything  tending  to 
secure  a  steady  sale  for  the  work  of  skilled  colored  cooks  in 
such  exchanges  is  a  step  in  the  direction  of  solving  the 
"colored  unemployed'*  problem  of  Philadelphia  with  dl  the 
degradation  and  suffering  implied  in  that  problem. 

In  regard  to  the  second  possible  remedy  proposed  by  Miss 
Salmon,  it  can  only  be  said  that  the  method  of  profit-sharing 
is  as  practicable  with  colored  as  with  white  or  foreign  em- 
ployees— ^perhaps  more  so  since  colored  domestics  are  prover- 
bially **  anxious  to  please." 

The  third  possible  remedy  suggested — thorough  education 
in  household  affairs — aims  to  remove  the  odium  now  attaching 
to  domestic  service  and  to  attract  competent  people  to  the 
emplo3rment  by  raising  it  to  the  rank  of  a  profession.  The 
Philadelphia  colored  people  have  already  thought  this  subject 
through  for  themselves.  A  woman  physician  who  is  well 
known  in  Philadelphia,  one  of  the  most  intelligent  and  interest- 
ing women  of  either  race,  said  to  the  present  investigator:  *'  If 
domestic  service  were  made  more  honorable,  more  tolerable, 
more  human,  it  would  not  be  so  unpopular.  If  we  had  good 
training-schools  for  service  it  would  become  an  honorable 
branch  of  business.  Mr.  Booker  Washington  believes  in  '  put- 
ting brains  into  common  work,'  and  that  is  just  what  I  say 
about  domestic  labor.  If  a  girl  is  taught  to  cook  skillfully  and 
to  buy  economically  she  becomes  a  dignified  laborer.  A  trained 
worker  is  always  honorable  and  dignified.  I  have  often  said 
there  should  be  a  school  to  train  domestics.  Many  girls  want 
to  work  who  can't  getthe'opportunity.  If  you  ask  them  *  What 
do  you  understand  doing  ? — ^What  do  you  represent  ?'  they  say, '  I 
don't  know  how  to  do  anything  well;'  it  is  a  most  lamentable 
answer  and  a  most  common  one.     But  they  want  to  learn;  if 


508      .  special  Report  on  Negro  Domestic  Service. 

you  ask, '  Would  you  go  aud  work  for  fifty  cents  a  week  and  be 
trained?*  they  will  say:  *yes,  willingly.*  And  I  believe  that 
we  should  have  a  school  of  instruction  with  a  regular  course, 
where  graduates  who  reach  a  certain  degree  of  excellence  get  a 
certificate  of  efficiency.  Let  this  school  be  an  employment 
bureau  also.  Such  an  arrangement  would  be  a  help  both  ways, 
to  the  employees  and  to  the  competent  among  the  employed." 

That  this  idea  of  Dr. 's  could  be  made  workable  seems 

unquestionable  when  we  study  the  situation  in  London  as 
shown  by  Mr.  Booth.  There  the  girls  fit>m  the  workhouse 
schools,  who  have  only  the  merest  rudiments  of  training  in 
household  afiairs,  are  nevertheless  in  such  demand  in  London 
service  that,  as  Mr.  Booth  says:"  "There  is  no  difficulty  in 
finding  places  for  the  girls  from  the  workhouse  schools  as  the 
demand  far  exceeds  the  supply."  The  M.  A.  B.  Y.  S.  (Metro- 
politan Association  for  Befriending  Young  Servants)  has  organ- 
ized an  emplo3rment  bureau,  where  these  young  servant  girls 
may  be  engaged,  and  at  this  office  the  protection  of  the  girl  is 
insured  by  obliging  the  mistress  to  sign  a  form  of  agreement 
stating  the  number  in  her  family,  work  required,  wages  paid, 
privileges  granted,  etc.  The  detailed  workings  of  this  bureau 
and  its  friendly  connection  with  the  girls  after  their  places  are 
secured  are  set  forth  fully  in  Mr.  Booth's  book.  The  chief 
thing  to  be  noted  here  is  the  remarkable  demand  which  actu- 
ally exists  for  girls  having  any  training  at  all,  which  fact  leaves 
little  doubt  that  the  training  does  distinctly  add  to  the  value 
of  the  servant.  A  training  school  for  domestic  training  could 
easily  be  established  in  Philadelphia  in  connection  with  institu- 
tions already  organized.  The  best  known  colored  institute  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia  is  already  doing  admirable  work  in 
manual  training  and  the  teaching  of  trades  from  the  building 
trades  to  millinery  and  dressmaking.  Would  it  not  be  practi- 
cable to  add  courses  in  domestic  science  and  economy,  chemis- 
try and  sanitation,  etc.,  to  which  only  graduates  of  the  institute 
should  be  admitted  and  where  certificates  should  be  granted  only 
to  graduates  attaining  a  certain  rank  in  their  work,  both  theo- 
retical and  practical?    An  employment  bureau  in  connection 


'^  **  Life  and  Ivabour  of  the  People,**  Charles  Booth,  Vol.  8,  p.  215  and 
following. 


Ideals  of  BettermenL  509 

with  such  a  training  school  could  be  undertaken  on  a  fair 
business  basis  by  some  philanthropic  or  civic  association,  to 
insure  fair  treatment,  as  is  done  by  the  M.  A.  B.  Y.  S.  in 
London.  Such  a  plan  would  undoubtedly  be  facilitated  by  the 
presence  at  the  head  of  this  particular  institution  at  the  present 
time  of  one  of  the  most  gifted  and  progressive  women  in  Phila- 
delphia, whose  views  on  domestic  service  are  the  leading  ones 
in  modem  domestic  reform. 

In  closing  this  paper  it  may  be  well  to  point  out  that  these 
suggestions,  all  of  which  are  in  line  with  the  views  of  the 
best  thinkers  upon  the  subject  of  reform  in  the  administration 
of  household  matters,  would  obviate  in  large  measure  the 
greatest  difficulties  in  the  domestic  service  of  to-day.  What 
are  these  difficulties?  In  England  the  two  greatest,  in  the 
opinion  of  Mr.  Booth,  are  the  dullness  of  the  domestic  servants' 
life  and  the  difficulty  of  the  personal  relations  between  employer 
and  employed.  The  same  is  true  of  American  domestic  ser- 
vice, with  the  added  drawback  of  loss  of  social  standing,  which 
in  this  country  is  the  greatest  objection  of  all,  though  hardly 
consciously  felt  in  England.  When  the  domestic  becomes  a 
**  trained  worker,  honorable  and  dignified,**  this  great  objec- 
tion will  be  removed,  and  it  is  clear  that  minimizing  the  num- 
ber of  domestics  employed  within  the  household  would  do 
away  in  large  measure  with  the  difficulty  of  the  personal  rela- 
tions between  mistress  and  maid,  while  the  domestics  thus  set 
free  to  perform  their  special  work  according  to  their  own 
methods,  and  in  their  own  homes,  would  have  no  more  reason 
to  complain  of  the  dullness  of  such  life  than  a  dressmaker  or 
milliner  would  have.  With  the  removal  of  these  obstacles, 
better  ability  would  enter  domestic  service,  and  the  industry 
would  become  more  honorable  as  well  as  more  endurable  and 
attractive  to  domestics,  who  we  sometimes  forget  are  also 
human  beings,  and  naturally  wish  to  live  the  lives  of  human 
beings. 


LI^'Rm  OF  THE 
LELAND  SJAfJFORD  JR.  UNIVERSITY. 

INDEX. 


Abolition  of  slavery,  15,  16,  22,  39,  412,  415. 

Abolition  Society,  20,  22,  31. 

Addison  street,  61,  357. 

Adger,  Kobert,  36,  121. 

African  M.  E.  Church,  21,  208-10,  473. 

African  M.  £.  Zion  Church,  211-13. 

Afro-American  League,  374. 

Age  of  Negroes,  55,  56,  57,  64,  65,  65n,  431. 

Allen,  Richard,  18,  19,  21,  23. 

Alleys,  60. 

Alleys,  blind,  294. 

Alleys  where  Negroes  live,  308. 

Amalgamation,  358/f. 

Amendments,  14n  and  15n,  372. 

Amusements,  309/f,  320-21,  463-G4. 

Anglo-Saxons,  386. 

Aristocracy  among  Negroes,  176-77,  316*19. 

Arrests,  242,  243,  247. 

Artists,  Negro,  36. 

Assientio  treaty,  14,  412. 

Augustin,  Peter,  32,  34. 

Bakers,  Negro,  118. 

Baptist  Church  among  Negroes,  213-15,  473. 

Barbers,  115-16. 

Bath-rooms  and  water-closets,  292-94. 

Beneficial  Societies,  Negro,  185,  221-22,  224-26,  457-59. 

Benevolence,  355/f. 

Benevolent  institutions  for  Negroes,  355-56. 

Benezet,  Anthony,  12,  23,  83,  84. 

Bethel  Church,  201. 

Bettle,  Edward,  27. 

Bird  school,  84. 

Birthplace  of  Negroes,  73/f,  77-78,  80/f. 

Birth  rate,  168. 

Blockley  almshouse,  272. 

Bogle,  Robert,  32,  33-4. 

Bribery  in  voting,  373,  375/f. 

(5«i) 


512  Index. 

Budgets  of  families,  173/f. 

Building  and  Loan  Association,  186,  226. 

Cake  walks,  820. 

Candy  and  notion  stores,  117. 

Caterers'  Association,  110. 

Caterers,  decline  of  Negro,  120. 

history  of  Negro,  82,  32/f,  36,  119. 
Catholic  Church  among  Negroes,  219-20. 
Catto,  Octayius  V.,  39-42. 
Catto  School,  352. 
Cemeteries,  N^^o,  121,  231. 
Central  Church,  216-16. 
Charities,  color  discrimination  in,  3.36-67. 
Charity  Organization  Society,  274-76. 
Cherry  Street  Church,  214. 
Children's  Aid  Society,  273-74. 
Children,  destitute,  273-74. 
Church  affiliations,  208. 
Churches,  activities  of,  207. 

annual  budget  of,  202-3. 

condition  of,  207-8. 

Negro,  199,  200. 

N^^o  and  amusements,  194,  409-70. 

N^^o,  history  of,  197/f. 

typical  organization  of,  201-2. 
Cigar  stores,  117. 
Cities,  migration  to,  354. 

Northern,  Negroes  in,  8. 

rush  of  Negroes  to,  240. 
City  population,  Negro,  50-3. 
Citizens'  Club,  379. 
Civic  Club  of  Philadelphia,  430,  445. 
Civil  rights,  417,  418. 
Clarkson,  Mayor,  18. 
Classes   among  Negroes,   39(>. 
Clerks,  Negroes  as,  131-33. 
Clothing  of  Negroes,  161-62. 
Clubs,  political,  378-80. 
Coates  Street  School,  84. 
Color  discrimination,  394-96. 

in  charities,  350-57. 

in  discharging  employes,  341-42. 

in  getting  work,  323-24,  326-29,  464-67,  484-89. 

in  promotion  of  Negro  employes,  343-44. 

in  rents,  295-97,  347-48. 

in  schools,  349-60. 


Index.  513 


Color  discrimination,  in  trades,  129fi,  829-81. 

typical  cases  of,  327/f. 

in  wages,  139,  323,  344-46,  449-51. 

in  woman's  work,  333-36. 
Color  line  in  work,  339-40. 
Color  prejudice,  145-46,  282-86,  464-67,  484-89 
Condition  of  Negroes,  31,  36,  37. 
Condition  of  slaves,  15. 
Conjugal  condition,  66/f,  70-71. 
Confidence-men,  261. 
Convention  of  N^^oes,  24n,  31. 
Co-operative  Caterers'  Supply  Store,  119. 
Co-operative  stores,  117,  228. 
Correction,  House  of,  Negroes  in,  244. 
Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals  on  Suffrage,  370. 
Crime,  390«  413. 

according  to  years,  251. 

causes  of,  140,  285. 

character  of,  250. 

and  illiteracy,  253-55,  258-59. 

history  of  Negro,  253/f. 

improper  charges  of,  267-68. 

kinds  of,  240. 

of  Negroes,  235,  236,  237,  238,  238-40. 

punishment  of,  249. 

recent  increase  of,  241,  247-48. 

serious,  250-51. 

since  the  war,  240/f. 

special  study  of,  248/f. 
Criminal  class.  257. 
Criminals,  31,  235/f. 

age  of,  253-55. 

birthplace  of«  253. 

conjugal  condition  of,  253. 

sex  of,  252. 
Crucifixion,  Church  of,  217-19. 
Death  rate,  149,  150-51,  152-55,  157,  158-59. 

by  wards,  149. 
Dentists,  115. 

Derham,  Negro  physician,  18. 
Desertion  of  husbands  and  wives,  67. 
Detectives,  Negroes  arrested  by,  258n. 
Dickinson,  Anna,  38. 

Discrimination,  see  Prejudice  and  Color  disoriminaiUm. 
Diseases  of  Negroes,  151-52,  495. 
Distribution  of  Negroes,  37,  81. 

33 


514  Index. 

Distribution  of  Negroes  in  the  city,  200-304. 
Domestic  service,  ideals  for  betterment  of,  500^. 

grades  of,  444-45. 

lack  of  opportunities  for  recreation  in,  467-68. 

proportion  of  Negroes  in,  137,  427,  428. 

quality  of,  474/f. 

reform  of,  430. 

Miss  Salmon's  suggestion  for  improving,  500-511. 

special  report  on,  425^. 

profit  sharing  in,  503. 

specialization  in,  501-3,  504-7. 

See  also  Bervants, 
Douglass,  Frederick,  38. 

Hospital,  230-31. 
Drink  habit,  277-82. 
Duties  of  slaves,  14,  16,  411,  412,  413. 
Duty  of  Negroes,  389/f. 
Duty  of  Whites,  393^. 
Education  of  Negroes,  83^,  03,  05. 
Emancipation,  15,  16,  22,  39,  412,  415. 
Employment  agencies,  118. 
Environment  of  Negroes,  284-86. 
Episcopal  Church  among  Negroes,  217-10. 
Estates,  value  of,  182n. 
Excess  of  young  people,  55. 

in  domestic  service,  438. 
Excursions,  320. 

Expenditures  of  Negroes,  178,  392,  456-62. 
Exploitation  of  the  Negro,  192. 
Extinction  of  the  Negro,  388. 
Families,  size  of,  164/f,  274,  319n. 
Family  fesflvals,  196. 
Females,  excess  of,  53-5,  65. 
Food  of  Negroes,  161,  173/f. 
Forten,  James,  23,  24. 
Foundlings,  273-74. 
Free  African  Society,  19,  20,  21,  23. 
Free  Masons,  224. 
Free  Negroes,  16,  20. 

Friends  and  slavery,  11,  12,  13,  14,  16,  24. 
Fugitive  slaves,  25. 

sale  of,  416. 
Function  of  churches,  201,  203-5. 
Gallatin,  Albert,  369. 
Gambling,  265-67,  379. 
Gibson,  Judge,  on  suflfrage,  370. 


Index.  515 


Gordon,  Judge  J.  G.,  on  crime,  241n. 

Graduates,  Negro,  occupations  of,  352-53. 

Graduates,  Negro,  of  sch?k>lB,  occupations  of,  352-3. 

Grocery  stores,  llC-17. 

Hayti,  revolt  in,  22-23. 

Hazel,  Mayor,  236. 

Health  of  Negroes,  147/f,  160-63. 

Health,  see  also  Servants. 

Heredity  in  disease,  162. 

History  of  Negroes  in  Philadelphia,  10^. 

Home  for  Aged  and  Infirm  Colored  Persons,  230. 

Home  for  the  Homeless,  231-32. 

Home  life,  71,  72,  102-96. 

Homes  by  size  and  inhabitants,  291,  207-90. 

Homes  of  laboring  class,  204-05. 

of  poor,  203-04. 
House  to  house  inquiry,  62-3. 
Houses  and  rents,  287-00. 
Housing  of  the  poor,  203-04. 
Humanity,  idea  of,  386. 
Humphreys,  Richard,  87. 
Illiteracy  and  crime,  253-55,  258-50. 

of  N^roes,  83/f,  85,  87,  88,  01,  02,  02n. 
lUiteracy,  see  also  Servants. 
Immigrants,  73/f,  75,  76,  417. 

foreign,  26,  44. 

Negro,  304. 
Immigration  of  Negroes,  416,  417. 
Incomes  of  Negroes,  168-71. 
Increase  of  Negroes  in  U.  8.,  40-50. 

Negro  population,  46-48,  64. 

Whites,  46,  47,  48. 
Infusion  of  white  blood,  358/f,  350. 
Insane  among  Negroes,  273. 
Insurance,  life,  418. 
Insurance  Societies,  Negro,  225. 

petty,  character  of,  186. 

expenditures  for,  187-88. 
losses  by,  188-01. 

rates  of,  186-87. 

sick  and  death  benefits  of,  186-87. 
Intermarriage  of  races,  358/f. 

in  Ward  Seven,  361-66. 

statute  on,  360. 
Intermarried  persons,  white  and  black,  age  of,  362,  864. 

birthplace  of,  362,  363. 


5i6  Index, 

Intermarried  persons^  character  of,  366-67. 
children  of,  363,  365. 
illiteracy  of,  363,  364. 
occupations  of,  363,  364. 
rooms  and  rents  paid  by,  365-66. 
social  grades  of,  364-65. 
Jones,  Absalom,  18,  19,  21,  22,  23,  198. 

Henry,  32,  34,  35. 
Juan,  a  slave,  29. 
Kelley,  W.  D.,  38. 
Kidnapping  of  Negroes,  416. 
Kieth,  11. 

Laboring  class  among  Negroes,  175-76,  315-16. 
Lawyers,  114-15. 

Legislation  of  Pennsylvania  on  Negroes,  411/f. 
Length  of  residence  of  Negroes,  79,  80. 
Liquors,  alcoholic,  expenditure  for,  282. 
Literature  concerning  Philadelphia  Negroes,  420. 

of  Philadelphia  Negroes,  422. 
Literary  societies,  45. 
Loan  associations,  226. 
Lodgers,  164-65,  271. 
Lodging  system,  194. 
Lombard  street,  58,  60,  61,  294,  295. 
Marriage,  13,  68-70,  71,  72,  165-66. 
Marriage  of  whites  and  blacks,  358/f. 
Marriage  rate,  1C8. 
Marriages,  slave,  411. 
Maryland,  migration  from,  76,  435-36. 
Mechanics,  Negro,  412,  413. 

opposition  of  white,  412,  413. 
Membership  of  churdhes,  203. 
Methodist  Church  and  the  Negroes,  18,  19. 

among  Negroes,  208-13. 
Merchants,  Negro,  115/f,  122,  124-25. 
Methods  of  inquiry,  1. 
Middle  alley,  60. 

Middle  classes  among  Negroes,  315-16. 
Midvale  Steel  Works,  129,  332. 
Migration  of  laborers,  annual,  135. 
Ministers,  Baptist,  112. 

Methodist,  112. 

Negro,  111,  112,  205-6. 
Minton,  Henry,  32,  34,  35. 
Miscegenation,  358/f. 
Missions,  Negro,  220-21. 


Index.  517 


Mixed  marriages^  358^. 

Mixed  schools,  417. 

Movement  of  Negro  population,  305-6. 

Moyamensing  prison,  Negroes  in,  238,  230,  243,  244,  246. 

Mulattoes,  203«  350. 

"Negro  Plot"  in  New  York,  412. 

Negro  problems,  5,  385/f. 

"Negro,"  use  of  term.  In. 

Newspapers  and  periodicals,  Negro,  45,  126,  220. 

Night  schools,  86,  94. 

Number  of  N^rroes,  13,  14,  17,  26,  49-51,  52,  50,  63-64. 

Occupations,  97/f,  109-10,  142-45. 

history  of,  141^. 

of  graduates  of  schools,  352-53. 
Odd  Fellows,  222-24. 
Officeholders,  Negro,  380-81. 
Organizations  of  Negroes,  197/f,  233-34. 
Ownership  of  property,  170flF. 
Pauperism,  413-14,  416. 

N^ro,  269ff. 
Paupers  in  almshouse,  272. 

typical  families  of,  274-77. 
Penitentiary,  Eastern,  Negroes  in,  238,  246«  247«  248. 
Penn,  Wm.,  and  slavery,  11,  18. 
Pennsylvania  Hall,  20. 
Physicians,  113-14. 
Pocketbook  snatching,  262-63. 
Policemen,  Negroes  as,  132. 
Policy  playing,  265. 
Political  clubs,  378-80. 
Politics  of  Philadelphia,  372. 
Poor  class  among  Negroes,  172-74,  314-15. 
Potters'  field,  415. 
Poverty,  causes  of,  275,  282-86. 
Preachers,  Negro,  111,  112,  205-6,  see  also  U\n%B%9r<s. 
Prejudice,  color,  322ff,  375. 

against  Negroes  in  business,  346-47. 

connection  with  crime,  350-55. 

results  of,  325-26,  350-55. 

see  also  (jolor  di^oriminaiion. 
Prejudice,  unconscious,  396-07. 
Presbyterian  Church  among  Negroes,  215-17. 
Professions,  learned,  Negroes  in,  111/f. 
Property-holders,  182/f. 

birthplace  of,  182. 

length  of  residence  of,  183. 


51 8  Index. 

Property-holders,  occupations  of,  183. 

Property  of  Negroes,  31. 

Prosser,  32,  34. 

Prostitutes,  313-14. 

Quaker  City  Association,  224-25. 

Quakers,  see  Friends. 

Raspberry  street  school,  84,  87. 

Ratcliffe  alley,  60. 

Reform  in  politics,  383/f. 

Religion  of  churches,  205-6. 

Rent,  287-00. 

Rent,  discrimination  in,  205-07,  347-48. 

I  extravagance  in,  295. 
Riots  against  Negroes,  26-29,  32,  45n,  237-38. 
Robbery,  highway,  263. 
Saloons,  277-82. 

conducted  by  Negroes,  117-18. 
Sandiford,  R.,  16. 
Schedules  used,  2,  400/f 
School  attendance,  84/f,  89,  90. 
Schools,  abolition  of  separate,  418. 

Negro,  20,  83,  84,  85. 

separate,  mixed,  417,  418. 
Secret  societies,  185,  221/f. 
Separate  cars,  417,  418. 

schools,  88,  89,  417. 
Serfdom,  Negro,  369,  411. 
Serfs,  white,  1 
Servants,  domestic,  136/f. 

age  of,  431,  438-42. 

amusements  of,  463-64. 

birthplace  of,  435-36,  475,  476,  478. 

board  and  lodging  of,  141,  453-55. 

character  by  birthplace,  482-83. 

by  race  and  color,  432,  433. 

character  of,  481-82,  485-87. 

church  affiliations  of,  472-73. 

attempts  of,  to  change  occupation,  465,  466. 

conjugal  condition  of,  490-92. 

emplojTnent  of  leisure  time  of,  469/f. 

health  of,  495-99. 

illiteracy  of,  492-94-95. 

imported,  139,  338-39,  450-53. 

influence  of   fashion   on,  451. 

leisure  time  of,  468-69. 

length  of  service  of,  474-76,  480-81. 


Index,  519 


Servants,  domestic,  methods  of  hiring,  436. 

number  of,  431. 

opinion  of  employers  on,  484/f. 

savings  of,  456-59. 

sex  of,  431,  436-37. 

support  of  dependents  by,  460-62. 

training  of,  503-4,  507-9. 

wages  of,  446-48,  475,  477,  478,  479. 

work  required  of,  445. 
Service,  see  Domestic  Service  and  Servants. 
Seventh  Ward,  1,  58,  59-62. 
Sex  of  Negroes,  56,  64. 
Sexual  morality,  166. 
Shirley,  Thomas,  84. 
Slave,  importation  of,  415. 
Slaves,  duty  on,  412,  414,  416. 

in  Philadelphia,  17. 

traffic  with,  411,  413. 

trial  of,  411,  412. 

tumults  of,  411,  414. 
Slave  trade,  petition  vs.,  416. 
Slums,  Negro,  303,  307,  308. 
Smith,  Stephen,  36. 
Social  classes  among  Negroes,  6,  7,  8,  309/f. 

intercourse  between  the  races,  325. 
Soldiers,  colored,  23,  24,  38,  39. 
Status  of  Negroes,  413. 
Stevens,  A.  F.,  110. 
Still,  William,  36. 
Street  cars,  discriminations  on,  38. 
St.  George's  Church,  19. 
Study  of  the  Negro  in  Philadelphia,  43,  44. 
St.  Thomas  Church,  22,  198-99. 
Sub-renting,  290-92. 
Suffrage,  history  of  Negro  in  Pennsylvania,  868,  869. 

Negro,  22,  30,  416,  417. 

attempt  to  restrict,  369-70. 
bad  results  of,  373/f. 
good  results  of,  382/f. 
Judge  Gibson  on«  370. 
in  convention  of  1837—371-72,  415,  416. 
in  the  North,  368. 
Suicide,  267. 
Swedes  and  slavery,  11. 
Tanner,  Uenry  O.,  Negro  artist,  353. 
Teachers,  113. 


520  Index. 

Thieves,  "badger"  and  sneak,  261,  263. 
Traders,  Free  Society^  11. 
Trades,  N^^roes  in,  14,  15,  33,  126^,  329-8i 
Trades  Unions,  128-20,  336-38n. 

and  Negroes,  332-33. 

among  Negroes,  227-28. 
Trial  of  Negroes,  13. 
True  Reformers,  Order  of,  225. 
Undertakers,  Negro,  118. 
United  States,  proportion  of  Negroes  in,  51. 
University  Extension,  232. 

of  Pennsylvania,  1,  340. 
Upholsterers,  Negro,  110. 
Vagrants,  271-72. 
Vaux  School,  84,  352. 
Virginia,  migration  from,  75. 
Wages,  133. 

color  discrimination  in,  130,  440-51. 

difference  in  male  and  female,  448. 

of  servants,  446-48. 
Wain,  Congressman,  22. 
Wards  of  Philadelphia,  50. 
Water-closets  and  baths,  161. 
Wealth  of  Negroes,  179-80. 
Widows,  67.  70. 
Woman's  Exchange,  231,  506. 
Woolman,  12. 

Work,  color  discrimination  in,  394-96. 
Y.  M.  C.  Association,  195,  232. 
Zoar  Church,  22. 


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